The mommy guilt, oh how it burns. A recent survey on iVillage found that 72 percent of moms experience guilt. "I'm surprised the number is not higher," TODAY's Ann Curry said.
Psychiatrist Gail Saltz says some guilt is normal, but if it's really dragging you down every day, you need to take a hard look at what's causing your guilt and deal with it.
Liz Zack, an editor at iVillage, says moms are increasingly talking about guilt on their message boards, which she thinks is due to many woman returning to work or working longer hours because of the recession.
Curry, herself the working mom of two, says she tells moms to remember this: "Taking care of your job -- especially if you're going back to work in this recession -- is taking care of your family, is taking care of your kids."
As a working mom who left my 1-year-old crying at day care this morning -- which is just the worst feeling -- that actually does help. (I lurked outside the day care door until I heard him stop crying... took about 20 seconds.)
During the show, Al Roker piped in from the middle of a snowstorm in Chicago to remind us that have dads have guilt, too. So at least we're all in this together.
Do you battle guilt as a mom? What do you feel guilty about, and how do you deal with it? And if you're among the lucky 28 percent who don't feel guilty, how do you do it?