Stories of 'mum guilt' at 5 live's #mumtakeover

BBC 5 live's #mumtakeover brought hundreds of parents together at Blackpool Tower

Mothers say they suffer from "mum guilt" and are too ashamed to ask for help for fear of looking like a failure.

This was the shared experience voiced by mums and dads at BBC 5 live's #mumtakeover which aimed to be an honest and intimate conversation about parenting and mental health.

Celeb mums Stacey Solomon, Rochelle Humes, Giovanna Fletcher and Neev Spencer joined 5 live's Anna Foster with a panel of experts and an audience of mums at Blackpool Tower.

Solomon, mum to Zachary, nine and Leighton five, says she carries guilt around all day.

She says: "I'm a working mum - that's why I feel guilty but a lot of my friends who are stay at home parents have the same guilt but for different reasons.

"They'll say to me 'well I'm not showing them that example of going out to work'... we just beat ourselves up constantly."

Stacey Solomon told the panel about her struggles with "mum guilt"

It was a lively crowd with little ones crying or toddling around and mums feeding babies and chatting.

But it was also a very supportive space with many saying they recognised their own experiences in other mothers' stories.

BBC News spoke to some of the parents taking part about the issues that matter to them.

'No one told me to look after my brain'

Olivia Siegl set up the Every Mum Movement after suffering postnatal depression and postpartum psychosis

Olivia Siegl founded The Every Mum Movement after suffering mental health problems following the premature and traumatic birth of her first daughter.

"Within hours of having Eve the anxiety and panic attacks started," says the 38-year-old from Bridgnorth in Shropshire.

"It took over my whole life. I was fearful of leaving the house. I sterilised everything and stockpiled nappies that she wouldn't grow into for months.

"I had a real feeling of self-loathing that I wasn't a good enough mother and I wasn't coping."

After eight months Mrs Siegl broke down and told her husband who urged her to see a doctor.

She was scared the doctor would say she was an unfit mother and take her baby away but when she sought help she was diagnosed with postnatal depression and postpartum psychosis and received treatment.

She now receives hundreds of emails through the support network she set up from women with similar experiences.

"I was angry that I'd read all the advice, bought all the gadgets, done my pelvic floor exercises but not once did anyone tell me how to look after my brain," says Mrs Siegl.

She wants parents to find talking about mental health as easy as discussing sleeping or feeding techniques.

'More workplace support for new parents'

Father-of-two Tim Dodgson, a detective with Lancashire Constabulary, says workplaces should be more accommodating to new parents.

The 44-year-old, from Lancaster, says: "Past gender roles of men going out to work and women staying at home looking after the baby no longer exist.

"Going back to work should be as easy as possible for both parents who have new priorities now."

He has created a contemplation room at a police station in Lancaster. It is a quiet place for mothers to express and store milk in a fridge and a place for dads to have a lie down after a sleepless night.

It has music and coloured lighting to help relaxation.

"It's ok to say 'I need a rest, I need a minute, I need to express'," he says.

'Strangers commented on my parenting'

Kerry Fielding says people used to ignore her when she asked for help when her daughter was younger

Kerry Fielding, from Blackpool, says: "You hear all about what it's like to live with a disabled child but what about disabled parents?"

The 44-year-old, who is blind, says she had to give up her job travelling the UK helping people with disabilities to access workplace technology when she had daughter Madison, now 14.

She says this is because there was not enough support to help her juggle work and parenting.

"People want to try going out as a disabled parent.

"I can't use a buggy so I had Maddie on my front or back and strangers would say to me 'I don't think she can breathe in there'.

"She would throw a spoon across a cafe and I'd call out for help to find it and the room would be silent.

"There needs to be much more awareness and help for disabled parents."

'I began resenting my eldest after adoption'

Lee Taylor wants more support for adoptive parents

Lee Taylor, 44, from Blackpool, and wife Elaine adopted their eldest son and a daughter in 2001 and their youngest son in 2006.

He does not believe there is enough support for adoptive parents.

"We weren't told all the facts about why our children had been put into care and what had happened to them so we just weren't prepared for their needs," he says.

"I began resenting my eldest and my wife ended up with depression because we couldn't cope. You feel like the worst parents in the world but actually you're like everyone else.

"There needs to be more transparency in adoption. It felt like the system was more geared up to supporting the children's birth mother than us."