Do I need to apply for Suzhou maternity allowance myself?

You don't have to deal with it yourself.

The maternity allowance in Suzhou does not need to be handled by individuals themselves, but needs to be registered. After pregnancy, female insured persons need to bring their resident ID card, marriage certificate, employee marriage certificate issued by the employer and spouse ID card and other related materials to the local community health department for birth registration. After handling, the municipal social security center will allocate the maternity allowance to the employer in the month following the expiration of the maternity leave for female employees.