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N.C. school employees can take leave after some pregnancy losses

Black mothers are more likely than white mothers to die during pregnancy or delivery or in the year following.
JGI/Tom Grill
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Getty Images/Tetra images RF
Black mothers are more likely than white mothers to die during pregnancy or delivery or in the year following.

Public school employees in North Carolina can now receive paid leave for some pregnancy losses. State lawmakers passed paid parental leave for school employees for the first time beginning last school year.

On Wednesday, state education officials clarified rules for taking that leave in the event of a miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a child immediately after birth. Geoff Coltrane is Governor Roy Cooper's senior education adviser.

"North Carolina is one of the first state's in the nation now to offer this type of leave for these medical exigencies, so just a point of celebration, which means our school systems will be some of the first school systems in the nation to offer this type of leave," he said.

If a fetus dies after the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy but before a completed birth, the pregnant employee will receive 4 weeks paid leave for recuperation.

If a child dies after a completed birth, either parent can receive the full parental leave they would receive for a live birth.

These rules follow guidelines set by the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources.