Sep '25 • General discussion
It’s not the meetings that exhaust you after maternity leave — it’s pretending you’re the same woman who left
💬 Let’s Talk About the Real Exhaustion After Maternity Leave
We often think the hardest part about returning to work after maternity leave will be the meetings, the deadlines, or the school runs squeezed in between conference calls. But let’s be honest… it’s not the meetings that drain us.
It’s the pressure of pretending we’re the same woman who left.
And here’s the truth: you’re not the same. You can’t be the same.
Motherhood shifts you in ways that go far deeper than sleepless nights or a changed routine. It reshapes your priorities, your perspective, and your sense of identity. The problem is that the workplace doesn’t always see — or acknowledge — that shift.
Instead, there’s often an unspoken expectation that you’ll just slip back into your old role, at your old pace, with your old energy. Smile, take notes, hit the deadlines. Business as usual.
But you know better.
👉 The woman who left for maternity leave may have been ambitious, focused, and driven.
👉 The woman returning is still ambitious and driven — but she’s also carrying a new level of responsibility, an invisible mental load, and perhaps a quieter, more reflective version of herself.
And when the world expects “old you” but you’re walking in as “new you,” the act of masking, adjusting, and trying to fit back into the old mould is what creates the real exhaustion.
You’re not alone in this — and you’re not imagining it.
I want you to know that so many women in this community have felt this same tug-of-war: the pressure to “prove” themselves at work, while internally whispering, “But I’m different now. My priorities have changed. Does anyone else see it?”
This is why the return-to-work transition can feel so heavy. It’s not because you lack capability. It’s because the gap between who you were and who you are now isn’t always recognised — not by workplaces, and sometimes not even by ourselves.
Here’s the shift I want you to take away: returning to work after maternity leave isn’t about squeezing yourself back into the old shape of who you were. It’s about stepping into the new identity you’ve grown into.
💡 And that’s exactly what this community is here for.
Inside HERA Coaching, we talk openly about these invisible challenges. We focus on building harmony between work and home, reclaiming empowerment in our choices, strengthening resilience for the tough days, and setting aspirations that actually fit this new season of life.
✨ You don’t need to pretend to be the woman who left. You get to rise as the woman you’ve become.
💬 I’d love to hear from you:
When you returned to work (or if you’re preparing to), did you feel this pressure to act like nothing had changed? How did it show up for you?
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It’s not the meetings that exhaust you after maternity leave — it’s pretending you’re the same woman who left
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