Mom who worked from hospital post labor has message for other parents

A mom who worked from her laptop immediately after her C-section is urging other working parents to rethink the pressure they put on themselves.

Sophie Sherief (@divamedialtd), 37, shared a viral TikTok reflecting on her near-immediate return to work after the birth of her daughter. From her hospital bed, she asked her mom for her work laptop. The clip, which shows her children playing in the kitchen, has racked up more than 1.1 million views. She reflected on her refusal to take a break. “It used to feel iconic. Now? It just makes me ache. Because I missed maternity leave completely,” she captioned the post.

“My real red-flag moment was realizing that it wasn’t normal for my mom to be bringing my laptop to the hospital right after a C-section and major abdominal surgery. That should’ve been the wake-up call,” she told Newsweek.

While parents in the U.K. are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave with a portion of it paid, the U.S. offers no federal paid maternity leave at all, leaving many new mothers back at work within weeks of giving birth.

For self-employed mothers in the U.K., maternity support is far more limited than for employees, with pay capped through Maternity Allowance rather than full employer-backed leave.

Sherief, who helps self-employed mothers “find a genuine balance between business and babies,” said sharing the moment felt like a fitting way to show how much has changed in eight years.

“I never expected it to go viral; it was just me being honest (and slightly horrified) at how far I used to push myself.”

Building a Business While Giving Birth

When her daughter Darcey was born in 2013, Sherief was already deep into building her first business, DIVA Wedding Fayres. What started as one event rapidly expanded into a national brand hosting more than 40 shows a year. She said she was so focused on sustaining momentum that she “genuinely didn’t know how to switch off.”

By the time her son Rocco arrived eight years ago, she was still in “relentless mode,” preparing one of Hereford’s biggest events just five weeks after giving birth. That drive led her to bring her laptop to the hospital, telling herself it was only “to tie up a few things while he slept.”

At the time, she treated it as a sign of dedication. “I wore it almost like a badge of honor—look how hard I work,’” she said. Looking back, she calls it “complete madness,” fueled by pressure to prove she could do it all as a young mother building a business from scratch.

Today, she feels “equal parts pride… and disbelief.” She added: “I don’t glorify that hustle anymore. I think when women realize that it’s survival and not success—that’s when the penny drops.”

A Turning Point During Lockdown

Sherief said her mindset shifted dramatically during lockdown in 2020. Although she had reached the level of success she had pursued for years, she realized she was exhausted and burnt out. She began building DIVA Media with a new focus on sustainability and support.

Lockdown also gave her what she describes as her “maternity leave back.” With her 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son at home, she finally slowed down and realized how much she had missed in the early years. She said the experience offered not just time with her children, but clarity about how unsustainable her previous lifestyle had been.

Rebuilding Work and Home Life

As the world reopened, Sherief rebuilt her business and lifestyle to support a calmer, more intentional rhythm. She stripped back the wedding shows, eliminated constant travel and weekend events, and shifted most of her work online. She still works hard, she said, but now she “works smarter” and prioritizes being present for her children.

Sherief credits a close-knit “village” of friends and supportive parents as crucial during the most intense periods of parenting and entrepreneurship

Learning To Let Go of Guilt

Sherief acknowledges she sometimes feels guilt when comparing her children’s early years. With Darcey, she spent long days at baby groups, cafés and libraries.

With Rocco, she was learning boundaries and slowing down. Still, she believes he is growing up with “a calmer, more grounded mum,” and she now teaches other mothers that guilt “doesn’t serve anyone.”

Today, Sherief is proud of balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship. Her children see her “creating, leading, sometimes failing, but always trying,” which she sees as an important example for them—especially her daughter.

Her message to other mothers is simple: you don’t have to choose. “The version of me with the laptop in labor thought she had to choose,” she said. Now she knows that with support and sustainability, “you can have both.”

TikTok users shared their own stories of trying to balance motherhood and work.

“I went back to work when my first born was 5 weeks old. For my second I had six months maternity leave. I’d have loved to have had the full 12 months each time but I had to earn money to keep a roof over our heads. I honestly don’t know how others do it. Who’s paying the bills once your income drops?” shared one mom.

“Back to work four weeks after the birth of my two youngest, I will forever mourn the days at home with my babies I never got to have,” said Isabelle.

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