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Raising a child alone: health care, maternity leave, benefits and school

Where we could read the law, maternity leave is for mothers, married or not. Here is what exists in each country, what we could not confirm, and how to plan a simple budget.

Checked October 2026According to the rules in force in your country

Maternity leave

If you are an employee, the law gives you paid maternity leave. In India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar, where we read the rules, it does not depend on being married.

  • India: up to 26 weeks, of which no more than 8 before the expected birth; 12 weeks if you already have two or more children. You need 80 days of work in the 12 months before. You are paid your average daily wage, and your employer may not employ you for six weeks after the birth (Code on Social Security 2020, ss.59 and 60).
  • Malaysia: at least 98 days in a row, since January 2023. Full pay if you worked at least 90 days in the 9 months before the birth and told your employer. Leave can start up to 30 days before the expected date. Your employer may not dismiss you because you are pregnant (Employment Act 1955, as amended in 2022; MyGOV). Sabah and Sarawak have their own labour laws, which we did not check.
  • Indonesia: at least 3 months, plus up to 3 more months if a doctor certifies a health problem of the mother or the baby. Full pay for the first 4 months, 75% for the 5th and 6th. The law defines a mother without any marriage condition, and you may not be dismissed for taking the leave (Law No. 4 of 2024, arts 1, 4 and 5).
  • Thailand: up to 120 days per pregnancy since 7 December 2025 (it was 98). Your employer pays wages for up to 60 of those days. There are also 15 days of leave at half pay to care for a baby who is at risk or disabled (Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568).
  • Vietnam: 6 months under compulsory social insurance (Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15). Since 1 July 2026, the Law on Population gives 7 months for a second child. If you pay voluntary social insurance instead, you can get 2,000,000 ₫ per child born, after at least 6 months of contributions in the 12 months before the birth (Law 41/2024, arts 94 and 95).
  • Cambodia: the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) pays employees 70% of their reference earnings for 90 days, if they paid in for 9 of the last 12 months (NSSF, 2018). We could not read the official text of the Labour Law on leave, so ask your employer or the labour inspector what applies to you.
  • Laos: 105 days (120 for twins), at least 42 of them after the birth. Social insurance pays 80% of your reference earnings and the employer pays the other 20%, if you paid in for 9 of the last 12 months. There is also a birth grant of 60% of a month’s reference earnings (Labour Law 2013, art. 98; ILO, 2026).
  • Myanmar: 14 weeks, 6 before and 8 after the birth, plus 4 weeks for twins. Social security pays 70% of your average wage and a birth grant of half a month’s wage, after one year with the employer and at least 6 months of contributions (Social Security Law 2012, ss.25 to 27). In practice very few women receive it: the ILO puts coverage at 1.6% of women giving birth.

Public health care for you and the child

  • India: PMMVY (Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana) pays ₹5,000 for a first child, and ₹6,000 for a second child who is a girl. You enrol at pmmvy.wcd.gov.in or through UMANG, with Aadhaar. Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY covers households that meet its criteria; we found no special category for single mothers, and it does not cover IVF (ICMR-NIRRCH policy brief, January 2025).
  • Malaysia: we did not find an official text on fees at government clinics. Ask at your nearest Klinik Kesihatan.
  • Indonesia: the law gives mothers the right to health services before, during and after pregnancy, with health insurance cover (Law No. 4 of 2024, art. 4). If you are a BPJS Kesehatan (JKN) member, register your baby quickly: in April 2026, BPJS said newborns are not enrolled automatically. Ask your BPJS office for the deadline.
  • Thailand: if you are insured with Social Security as an employee, it also pays maternity benefits. The Social Security Office sets the amounts; check them there before the birth.
  • Vietnam: we could not confirm the rules on health insurance for young children in an official text. Ask your commune health station what is covered for the birth and for a young child.
  • Cambodia: families with an IDPoor card get free services at public health facilities through the Health Equity Fund (WHO, 2019).
  • Laos: National Health Insurance charges small fees, from 5,000 to 30,000 kip a visit. Pregnant women and children under five pay nothing (WHO, 2021). In Vientiane Capital, a separate programme covers care for mothers and children (ILO, 2026).
  • Myanmar: insured women get free medical care for pregnancy and the birth, and care for the child up to age one (Social Security Law 2012, s.25). Others use public facilities for a small fee. Since 2021, health care has been badly disrupted in many areas. WHO estimates that 9.3 million people need health help in 2026, and cost is the main barrier people report.

Child benefits

  • Thailand: a child support grant of 600 ฿ a month from birth to age 6, for a Thai child in a family under an income limit. Register at the district office (in Bangkok), at Pattaya City Hall, or at the local subdistrict or municipal office where you live, or in the “เงินเด็ก” app with ThaiD. Payment starts from the month you register, so register early. Check the current income limit when you apply.
  • Laos: the Helping Hands Programme pays 180,000 kip a month to eligible poor households. Conditions include at least four antenatal visits (ILO, 2026).
  • Myanmar: in some regions, the Maternal and Child Cash Transfer pays 15,000 kyat a month to pregnant and breastfeeding women until the child is 24 months old. It is not means-tested (ILO, 2026).
  • India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia: we found no official text on a child benefit for single mothers that we could confirm. Ask your local social welfare office.

School with only your name

In India, the Supreme Court said in 2015 that the father’s name is no longer needed to apply for a child’s school admission (ABC v. State (NCT of Delhi), para 19). For children born after the 2023 amendment took effect, the birth certificate is the proof of date of birth for school admission (Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, s.17(3)).

For the other countries, we could not find an official rule on school admission when only the mother is named. In every country, the first step is the same: register the birth on time and keep the birth certificate safe. See Registering the birth.

A simple budget

We give no amounts here, because costs differ so much between a village and a capital city. Make your own list, with real prices from where you live:

  • Before and around the birth: antenatal visits, the birth itself, medicines, and the first baby things.
  • Every month: food, milk and nappies, clothes, health care, and childcare while you work.
  • Every year: school fees, uniforms, books, transport, and festival and family costs.
  • Income gaps: the months of maternity leave at reduced pay, or without pay if you are self-employed.
  • A safety margin: savings for an illness or a lost job.

Then list what you can count on: your income, the leave and benefits above, and the help your family can give. Family help can be a big support too, in time as well as money.

Checked October 2026. Laws change: check the rules in force in your country. Leave and benefits often depend on how long you have paid in: ask your employer, or the social security office, before you are pregnant.

Sources

  • India: Code on Social Security 2020, ss.59, 60 and 67; PIB backgrounder on PMMVY, Ministry of Women and Child Development, August 2025; ICMR-NIRRCH, Health Technology Assessment in India policy brief 79, January 2025; ABC v. State (NCT of Delhi), Supreme Court, 6 July 2015; Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, s.17(3), as amended in 2023, checked October 2026.
  • Malaysia: Employment Act 1955, s.37, as amended in 2022; MyGOV, rights of pregnant employees, updated 13 March 2026, checked October 2026.
  • Indonesia: Law No. 4 of 2024 on the welfare of mothers and children in the first thousand days of life, arts 1, 4 and 5; BPJS Kesehatan statements reported in April 2026, checked October 2026.
  • Thailand: Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568, ss.41 and 59 (Government Public Relations Department, 8 December 2025); Department of Children and Youth child support grant (reported October 2026), checked October 2026.
  • Vietnam: Law on Social Insurance No. 41/2024/QH15, arts 53, 94 and 95; Law on Population No. 113/2025/QH15, checked October 2026.
  • Cambodia: NSSF notice, 15 August 2018; WHO Cambodia, 27 June 2019, checked October 2026.
  • Laos: Labour Law No. 43/NA of 2013, art. 98; WHO Lao PDR, 8 November 2021; ILO, maternity benefits in ASEAN, 2026, checked October 2026.
  • Myanmar: Social Security Law 2012, ss.25 to 27; ILO, maternity benefits in ASEAN, 2026; WHO Health Emergency Appeal 2026, checked October 2026.

In Option A, you raise the child and he helps from far away, with money every month. See money for the child and his part in raising the child.