Are Hollywood's Single Moms Sending the Wrong Message?

Opting to go it alone is a trend in Hollywood, as stars like January Jones, Sandra Bullock, Minnie Driver, Sheryl Crow and Padma Lakshmi have decided to forego the first comes marriage adage and start families on their own. Hats off to these women for forging their singular futures and having the guts to take matters into their own hands without a Prince Charming in the picture.

But do these Hollywood moms, who have millions of dollars, a full staff and unlimited time off make single motherhood look altogether too easy? Could they influence fans to make a similar decision without the resources to back it up?

"Celebrity moms going the single route are glamorizing and glorifying single motherhood," saysCare.com Editor-in-Chief Wendy Sachs. "Their lives are enviable. Their jobs have a built in flexibility. They can nurse babies between takes. They can afford armies of care around the clock and that just isn't the reality for most women. Even though more professional women are having children on their own. It's expensive and exhausting and without lots of support, it can be completely overwhelming."

And when regular moms can't live up to the celebrity standard they often beat themselves up, despite the fact that the celebrity ideal is entirely unrealistic.

"When you see a celeb mom on the cover of a magazine and they look fabulous and are back in their skinny jeans, they make other new moms who haven't showered in a week and are in their sweat pants feel badly about themselves," Sachs adds. "Ultimately, I think it can do more harm than good."

Rarely does a weekly news magazine include pictures of new moms in a state of disarray, pining for sleep and struggling with their weight. Rather we often see stars like Sandra and Sheryl carting their little ones around on set or backstage at a concert. What we also don't see are the armies of support staff huddling in trailers to make that pretty picture possible and who are there to hand the baby off to as soon as the famous mommy needs to get their hair and makeup done or their butt kicked by a personal trainer.

"Motherhood is hard no matter who you are but the helping hands that celebrities have certainly make a difference," says US Weekly staff writer Ericka Souter. "These Hollywood moms create an illusion that it is easy and women living a normal life in a normal town don't have the same luxuries afforded a celebrity."

Single mom and Parenting magazine blogger Christine Coppa appreciates the few celeb single moms who are candid about the things in their life that still aren't easy no matter how much money you have.

"Bridget Moynahan is an honest and repeatable celeb single mom. She once described life as a single mom with her son Jack as being 'portable' and said having more kids as a single mom would be hard. I agree and appreciated this comment," Coppa said. Both women have sons named Jack who are 4 years old. "In general I think motherhood is hard to glamorize--we're all wiping butts and noses, and taking it one day at a time."