I'm overwhelmed now - so how do I plan for motherhood when I've got ADHD?
Hayley Pearce was the popular tea lady in the BBC reality TV show The Call Centre where she was described as a party girl who you would never catch without fake tan or false nails
TV personality Hayley Pearce is pregnant with her first child and wondering how her "neurospicy" brain will handle all the demands of motherhood.
The 36-year-old, who shot to fame as the tea lady in BBC Three fly-on-the-wall series The Call Centre, was diagnosed with ADHD, external at 20.
"I have no concept of time… I've been sacked from jobs because I'm always late," she said.
"I'm not an organised person... I'm overwhelmed all the time."
She said her midwife had told her that her ADHD means she may be more likely to have postnatal depression than someone who is neurotypical.
Hayley hopes that by sharing her experience of ADHD it will start a conversation about how women like her can be better supported.
ADHD and motherhood
Hayley's home in south Wales is currently full of sticky notes to help her keep on top of everything she has to do.
"I'm overwhelmed right now with too many appointments going on," explained Hayley, who now works alongside social services with looked after children.
"I am neurospicy as I like to call it. I've always been like 100 miles an hour, some people call it scatty."
Hayley's TV career started when starred in the BBC reality TV series The Call Centre in 2013 and went on to make a number of documentaries and host a podcast
According to the NHS, symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can include being easily distracted or forgetful, finding it hard to organise your time and finding it hard to follow instructions or finish tasks.
It is something Hayley, who was diagnosed a year before rising to fame in The Call Centre in 2013, has lived with for as long as she can remember.
Hoping to pick up some tips on how to stay on top of everything once her baby comes along, Hayley went to meet 42-year-old Rhiannan Morgan.
Hayley's baby daughter is due in August
Rhiannan has four children with autism aged 21, 14, 11 and nine. Like Hayley, she has ADHD.
"Every time I was about to have a baby I was thinking 'well if I don't get my act together now I'm in real trouble'," she said.
When her children were little she spent many hours online looking for strategies to cope.
Rhiannan (left) creates resources to support what she calls other neurosparkly mums and families
The result is a range of hacks she uses to stay on top of everything.
Posting on social media as Mummy of Four, Rhiannan also shares tips online and creates resources to support what she calls other neurosparkly mums and families.
"ADHD brings lots of creativity and enthusiasm," she said.
"But it also brings challenges with working memory and remembering things and if you don't have those systems and strategies in place it just feels like you're trying to swim uphill constantly."
Rhiannan has ADHD and has developed a range of hacks to help her stay organised
Some of the hacks that Rhiannan says help her stay organised, include:
Ask children early on to help with household chores
Write a weekly meal plan
Encourage children to help with shopping list
Set up comfortable area to feed baby with comfortable chair, water and phone charger
Put information from letters and emails straight into your calendar and pay bills immediately
'Set and forget' such as having groceries delivered on same day and time every week
Use alarms on mobile phone as prompts to do tasks on time
Use a screen time app to avoid being distracted
Another concern on Hayley's mind is postnatal depression, external after a Swedish study, external of more than 770,000 births indicated mothers with ADHD could be up to five times more likely to experience postnatal depression than those who are neurotypical.
Dr. Nicola Peek, a counselling psychologist in the Perinatal Mental Health Service at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said this is because women with ADHD are more sensitive to the sharp drop in oestrogen and progesterone that occurs after childbirth, which can cause a dip in dopamine levels.
"They might present as feeling lower in mood, more fatigue, more brain fog, they might find it's difficult to focus on things in the way that they used to," she said.
Hayley and her partner discovered they were having a baby girl at their gender reveal party
Dr Peek's advice for new mums with ADHD, includes:
Advocate for yourself when engaging with medical professionals
Remember that social media can set up a lot of unrealistic expectations and what others share is not always the reality
Talk to your partner, family and friends about how you're feeling
Have boundaries with others around things such as advice giving
"With ADHD you can be an incredible parent," she said."
"There's going to be huge empathy, there's going to be huge creativity."
Hayley says she loves many things about having ADHD, such as being a "fun auntie"
With Hayley's baby expected in just a few weeks' time, she is determined to keep talking to those around her about how she is feeling.
"If I struggle, I struggle, I'm going to be honest about how I feel," said Hayley, who lives in Maesteg, near Bridgend.
"My life's going to take a massive 360 when I have this baby.
"It's going to be testing, it's going to be challenging and it's probably going to be the best feeling and the best thing I've ever done in my life."
Details of organisations offering support and information with ADHD are available at BBC Action Line.