State Disability Insurance

Short-Term Disability for Pregnancy: What Pays and for How Long

Can You Get Short-Term Disability for Pregnancy?

Yes. Short-term disability treats pregnancy and childbirth like any other condition that keeps you from working. A normal pregnancy usually pays for up to 4 weeks before your due date and 6 weeks after birth, or 8 weeks after a C-section. California, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Hawaii run or require these plans, and California pays up to $1,765 a week in 2026. Elsewhere it depends on your employer's plan. Compare the programs on the state disability insurance page.

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Short-term disability pays part of your wages while you can’t work because of pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. Whether you have it, and how much it pays, depends on the state you work in and on your employer. Here’s how it works in 2026, what each state program pays, and how to line it up with job-protected leave.

Can You Get Short-Term Disability for Pregnancy?

Yes. Pregnancy and childbirth count as a disability for short-term disability, as long as a licensed provider certifies that you can’t do your regular job. You don’t need complications to qualify for the weeks around birth.

There are two kinds of coverage:

  • A state program. Five states run or require short-term disability: California, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Hawaii. If you work there, you’re almost certainly covered through payroll deductions. You don’t have to buy anything.
  • An employer or private plan. Everywhere else, you’re covered only if your employer offers a plan or you bought a policy yourself. Your HR or benefits office can tell you which plan you have.

A third group of states, including Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Massachusetts, runs paid family and medical leave. Its medical leave works much like short-term disability during pregnancy. The state disability insurance guide lists every program.

How Long Short-Term Disability Pays for Pregnancy

A normal pregnancy usually pays for 10 to 12 weeks:

  • up to 4 weeks before your due date,
  • up to 6 weeks after a vaginal delivery, or
  • up to 8 weeks after a C-section.

California, New Jersey and New York all use those standard periods. Your provider can certify more time for complications, such as bed rest before birth or a slow recovery after it. New York allows up to 26 weeks in total with documentation. New Jersey says a complication must already exist before your provider can certify it, so it can’t be predicted in advance.

California also lets you stop earlier than 4 weeks before your due date when your job itself is the risk. Your provider can certify you if the work involves heavy lifting, continuous standing or chemical exposure.

What Each State Pays in 2026

Each program pays a share of your past wages, up to a weekly cap.

State Program Share of wages Weekly maximum Usual pregnancy period State guide
California Disability Insurance (SDI) 70 to 90 percent $1,765 4 weeks before, 6 after (8 after a C-section) California SDI
New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance 85% $1,119 4 weeks before, 6 after (8 after a C-section) New Jersey TDI
New York Disability Benefits 50 percent $170 4 weeks before, 6 after (8 after a C-section), up to 26 with documentation New York disability benefits
Rhode Island Temporary Disability Insurance Set from base-period wages, at least $148 $1,150 for benefit years from July 1, 2026 Only while a provider certifies you can’t work Rhode Island
Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance 58% $871 While a provider certifies you can’t work, up to 26 weeks Hawaii

Some details matter for a pregnancy claim:

  • California pays from $50 a week up to the maximum, based on wages you earned 5 to 18 months before your claim. The first 7 days are an unpaid waiting period. You need at least $300 in wages with SDI withheld.
  • New Jersey has a 7-day waiting week, but pays it back once you’ve been out 22 days without pay from your employer. In 2026 you need 20 weeks earning at least $310 a week, or $15,500 in the base year.
  • New York’s $170 cap is low because your employer’s insurance carrier pays it, not a state fund. Many employers add a richer private plan on top.
  • Rhode Island says plainly that TDI “is not for maternity leave.” It pays when a provider certifies that pregnancy complications keep you from working. For time with your newborn, you file for Temporary Caregiver Insurance instead. Rhode Island TDI benefits aren’t taxed by the federal government or the state.
  • Hawaii covers pregnancy under its TDI law. You need 14 weeks of Hawaii work with at least 20 hours each, and at least $400 in the 52 weeks before your disability.

Several paid leave states add weeks when pregnancy causes problems:

State Own-health leave Extra time for pregnancy Weekly maximum
Washington 12 weeks Up to 18 weeks combined with a pregnancy-related incapacity $1,647 in 2026
Colorado 12 weeks 16 weeks for a pregnancy or childbirth complication $1,448.02 from July 1, 2026
Oregon 12 weeks Up to 14 weeks in some pregnancy situations $1,692.16 for benefit years from June 28, 2026
Massachusetts 20 weeks of medical leave Up to 26 weeks of combined family and medical leave $1,230.39 in 2026

Washington pays up to 90% of your weekly pay up to the cap, and skips the waiting week for postnatal and bonding leave. Check your own state’s rules on the Washington and Colorado pages, or pick yours from disability help by state.

Short-Term Disability vs Maternity Leave and FMLA

Short-term disability replaces pay. It doesn’t hold your job. Paid family leave and FMLA fill the other gaps:

Short-term disability Paid family leave FMLA
What it covers Weeks you can’t work because of pregnancy and recovery Bonding with your baby after recovery Birth, bonding and your own serious health condition
Paid? Yes, a share of wages Yes, a share of wages No, unless you use your own paid leave
Holds your job? Not on its own in California Varies by state Yes, up to 12 workweeks

Most new parents stack them. In California, once your last disability payment arrives and your provider clears you, EDD sends a Paid Family Leave claim for up to 8 weeks of bonding. In New Jersey, Family Leave Insurance can follow TDI for a 12-week stretch, or 56 separate days, in your baby’s first year. In New York, you can’t collect disability and Paid Family Leave at the same time, and the two together can’t exceed 26 weeks in 52.

FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a birth, and your employer must keep your group health insurance going on the same terms. You qualify after 12 months with your employer and 1,250 hours of work in the past year, at a site with 50 employees within 75 miles. Your employer may require you to use paid leave during FMLA time.

Your Rights if Your Employer Offers Disability Benefits

Federal law says your employer can’t treat pregnancy worse than other conditions. The EEOC says an employer must treat a worker who can’t work because of pregnancy the same as other workers who are similarly unable to work. That includes disability leave and leave without pay. If your employer’s short-term disability plan pays for a knee surgery recovery, it has to pay for a pregnancy recovery on the same terms.

Your employer also can’t push you onto leave early. The EEOC says an employer may not make you take leave because you’re pregnant as long as you can do your job.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in effect since June 27, 2023, goes further at employers with 15 or more workers. It requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limits, and leave to recover from childbirth is one of them. Your employer can’t make you take leave when another accommodation would let you keep working, such as a stool, more breaks or no heavy lifting. The guide to workplace accommodations explains how to ask, and how to request a reasonable accommodation walks through the request.

Short-Term Disability for Federal Employees

Federal workers aren’t covered by state programs. New Jersey, for example, lists federal employees among the workers its TDI doesn’t cover. Instead, two federal benefits cover the time around birth:

  • Sick leave. OPM says an employee who gives birth is entitled to use sick leave for the recovery period after birth.
  • Paid Parental Leave. You get up to 12 workweeks of paid leave for a birth, used within 12 months after the baby arrives. You need 12 months of qualifying federal service, and the leave can’t start before the birth.

If You Lose Your Job While Pregnant

Losing your job doesn’t always end your disability claim, but you can’t collect unemployment and disability for the same weeks.

  • California says that if you’re on unemployment when pregnancy keeps you from working, stop certifying for unemployment and then apply for Disability Insurance. You must have been working or looking for work when your disability began.
  • New York pays through its Special Fund for Disability if you’ve been out of work more than four weeks and are collecting unemployment.

In the other states, check with your state labor department before you stop certifying for unemployment.

How to File a Pregnancy Claim

Each program needs your claim and a medical certification from your doctor or midwife. You can’t file before you stop working, because the claim starts when you lose wages. Deadlines are short:

  • California: file through myEDD no earlier than 9 days and no later than 49 days after you stop working. Licensed midwives can certify a normal pregnancy and postpartum recovery.
  • New Jersey: apply online within 30 days after your leave starts.
  • New York: file Form DB-450 with your employer or its carrier within 30 days.
  • Rhode Island and Hawaii: file within 90 days.

If complications turn into a condition expected to last a year or more, look at long-term benefits too. The SSDI guide explains how Social Security disability works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Use Short-Term Disability if You Are Pregnant?

Yes, once a doctor or midwife certifies that you can't do your regular job. In California, New Jersey and New York that usually starts 4 weeks before your due date. Rhode Island pays before birth only when complications stop you from working.

How Much Does Short-Term Disability Pay During Maternity Leave?

It's a share of your wages up to a weekly cap. In 2026 California pays 70 to 90 percent up to $1,765 a week, New Jersey 85% up to $1,119, and New York 50 percent up to $170. The California SDI guide shows how the California figure is worked out.

What Pays More, FMLA or Short-Term Disability?

Short-term disability, because FMLA leave is unpaid. FMLA holds your job and keeps your group health insurance going for up to 12 workweeks. Short-term disability replaces part of your pay. Most people use both at once.

Should You Get Short-Term Disability if You Plan to Get Pregnant?

If you work in California, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island or Hawaii, you're already covered through work. In other states, check your employer's plan before you get pregnant. Private policies set their own waiting periods and pre-existing condition rules, so read those terms before you buy.

Is Short-Term Disability the Same as Maternity Leave?

No. Disability pay covers the weeks your provider says you can't work, before birth and while you recover. Paid family leave covers bonding with your baby after that. Rhode Island says plainly that TDI isn't maternity leave.

Guides on This Topic

More From the Blog

This post explains official rules in plain language. It isn't legal advice, and only the agency that runs a program can decide your case.

Sources

  1. California EDD: Disability Insurance pregnancy FAQs
  2. California EDD: Disability Insurance
  3. California EDD: Paid Family Leave
  4. New Jersey: Maternity coverage under TDI and Family Leave Insurance
  5. New Jersey: Temporary Disability Insurance for workers
  6. New York WCB: Disability benefits for employees
  7. New York WCB: What are disability benefits
  8. Rhode Island DLT: TDI and TCI frequently asked questions
  9. Hawaii DLIR: About Temporary Disability Insurance
  10. Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: How Paid Leave works
  11. Colorado FAMLI: Frequently asked questions
  12. Paid Leave Oregon
  13. Mass.gov: Paid Family and Medical Leave overview and benefits
  14. U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #28, the Family and Medical Leave Act
  15. EEOC: Enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination
  16. EEOC: What you should know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
  17. OPM: Paid Parental Leave fact sheet

disability.help is an independent publisher, not a government agency. To apply for Social Security disability benefits, go to ssa.gov. For VA disability compensation, go to va.gov.