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Working through even the hardest parts of motherhood is a challenge moms around the world have come to expect. But when Sophie Sherief, a UK entrepreneur and founder of DIVA Media, looks at a photo of herself taken the day before she had her daughter, it stops her cold. The image shows her full-term pregnant with a laptop balanced on her belly, rushing to finish work that “will not do itself” the day before her scheduled C-section.
For years, she saw that picture as a badge of honor. But in her recent TikTok, now viewed more than a million times, Sophie shares that it no longer feels “iconic.” Instead, it makes her ache. She realizes she missed maternity leave almost completely.
@divamedialtd There’s a photo of me with a laptop balanced on my pregnant belly. The day before I went for my C- Section. It used to feel iconic. Now? It just makes me ache. Because I missed maternity leave completely. I was running one of the biggest events in Central Hereford – the highest attended single event in the city’s history – while my best friend walked my 8-week-old baby around the festival site. My mum brought my laptop to the hospital on day 1. And yes… I opened it. Because “the work wouldn’t do itself.” Because I thought that was success. Because I’d built a business that relied on me – always. But in 2020, everything shifted. I had 6 months with my 18-month-old son. We slow-cooked. We skate-parked. I taught him to speak and to walk. We lived. And I realised: I’m done missing the good stuff. No more glorifying burnout. No more building businesses that steal Saturdays and silence Sundays. Now? I have systems. Structure. SPACE. And I teach other women how to do the same – with just a few powerful shifts. This isn’t a pitch for ease. It’s a blueprint for freedom. FOLLOW me to come along for the ride where I’ll teach you to do the same
♬ Spirit Lead Me – Piano Version – Clavier
Her reflection taps something deep for so many mothers. How many of us have turned our own red flags into signs of grit, convinced that pushing through is what strong women do?
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How a laptop ended up in the maternity ward
Sherief spent years building DIVA Wedding Fayres into a national brand. She was hosting more than 40 wedding shows a year, driving across the country most weekends, and working in a constant state of forward motion. By the time her daughter arrived, relentless had become her default mode.
So on the day of her C-section, when she was still recovering from major abdominal surgery, Sherief told Newsweek that asked her mum to bring the laptop. She told herself she would only finish a few tasks while the baby slept. It felt like proof that she could do it all. A new mom, stitched and sore, still keeping her business afloat.
When work in the hospital becomes a standard to admire
In the comments of her TikTok, mothers shared their own stories that sound shockingly similar.
“Back to work 4 weeks after the birth of my 2 youngest, I will forever mourn the days at home with my babies I never got to have ” – @isabelle_hc
“ left work at 10:30am not knowing she’d be born within 3 hours. I was then sending emails that night in between feeds in hospital. Running a business doesn’t stop” – @kelly.whan
“I was doing my tax return the night before a planned c-section… then back to work 10 days postpartum and in recovery from pneumonia.” – @4kidsacatanddan
Mom Culture often praises these moments. Look how dedicated she is! Look how strong she is! Yet up close, these stories are not about empowerment. They are survival behaviors in a world that rarely gives mothers space to heal.
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The system behind the hustle
In the United Kingdom, employed parents may take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, with a portion paid. But self-employed parents rely on a capped Maternity Allowance that leaves many feeling unable to step back. And many female founders feel their businesses depended entirely on their presence and that every show, client, and invoice needs them personally.
For mothers in the United States, the pressure can be even more intense. With no federal paid maternity leave, many parents return to work within weeks just to maintain income or health insurance.
The result is a culture where opening a laptop in the maternity ward does not feel like a choice. It feels like a requirement.
The breaking point and a second chance
For Sherief, the turning point came in 2020 with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wedding shows halted. Travel stopped. Suddenly she was home with her five and two year olds, experiencing slow mornings and long afternoons at the skate park.
It was the pause she never knew she needed. She began to see how burned out she had been. The quiet days felt like getting back pieces of the maternity leave she had missed.
There was pride in what she had built. There was also grief for everything she had raced past.
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Rebuilding life and work with new rules
In the years since, Sophie has reshaped her business. She stepped away from high pressure events and moved toward online work, media, and coaching self-employed mothers. She put real boundaries around weekends and evenings.
Her definition of success shifted, too. No longer about being everywhere. More about systems that give her room to breathe. No longer about being the engine of everything. Instead, she prioritizes letting the business support the life she wants.
She also began building her village. Friends, grandparents, and community members who help create space for rest and recovery. And she teaches other moms to do the same, even in small ways.
The guilt she still carries, and how she answers it
Sherief speaks openly about the ache she still feels when she remembers juggling invoices and newborn naps. Yet she also sees what her children have gained through this recent transition: A mother who has slowed down. A mother who is more grounded. A mother who models creativity, leadership, and self compassion, even when she falls short.
It is normal to grieve the maternity leave you never had. That grief can guide different choices going forward.
For any mom who sees herself in that hospital laptop moment
Here is a gentle check-in:
Notice your red-flag moments
Maybe it was opening your laptop in triage. Maybe it was hiding in the bathroom at 2 a.m. to answer Slack. Maybe it was saying “I cannot afford to be off” even though your body was pleading for rest. Write down one moment that still weighs on you.
Ask what is really driving the hustle
Fear of losing income. Fear of disappointing others. Perfectionism. Identity tied to being the reliable one. These are not character flaws. They are survival strategies in a system that offers little support.
Set one boundary this week
Use an auto-reply for certain hours. Decline or postpone one meeting. Ask someone to handle the next school pickup so you can nap, pump, or simply breathe.
Build tiny systems so your work does not need you every minute
Templates. Scheduled posts. A list of tasks that only you can do versus what could be delegated someday. If you are not a founder, have an honest conversation with your manager about expectations, coverage, and a phased return.
Related article: 81% of working moms face burnout while ‘managing it all,’ Gallup study finds
What has to change beyond individual grit
Real recovery requires real systems. Paid leave for self-employed parents and contractors. Workplaces that plan for parental leave rather than improvising around it. A cultural shift that sees postpartum healing as necessary, not optional.
Sherief now helps guide mothers toward a blueprint for freedom. Not ease. Freedom. A work life that allows them to log off without everything collapsing.
A different kind of badge of honor
When she looks at that hospital photo now, Sherief no longer sees strength. She sees a woman who deserved real support.
The next badge of honor can be something else entirely. Protecting your healing. Letting systems carry more of the load. Choosing presence with your baby when you can.
Your ambition is not going anywhere. Your baby’s first days are. You deserve a world that makes room for both.
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