In my work I see tragedy daily and think: someone worked so hard to keep this person alive

‘Being a mother does not make me inherently more empathetic than someone who didn’t give birth. There are different angles from which we access the empathy we apply to the world.’ Photograph: Ponomariova_Maria/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The week I came back to work after parental leave, my daughter decided she didn’t want to sleep. My husband was on a work trip, and I was waking up every hour and a half to go through the long list of things she could possibly need – whether it was milk, a diaper change, a cuddle or an extra layer of clothing.

On the third morning, I found myself attempting to run our early breaking news operation while feeding my five-month-old, desperately in need of a shower and coffee. My mother, who had come to help for a few days, waited to take over.