SJP: "Balancing Work and Motherhood Is Really Difficult"

Sarah Jessica Parker has admitted she sometimes feels "guilty" about being a working mother.

The Sex and the City actress, who has three children under the age of eight, says she and husband Matthew Broderick refuse live-in help in an effort to give their kids a "normal" upbringing.

"We don't have any live-in help. We're pretty hands-on parents," Parker commented recently. "That's something that's important to both of us, and we don't shirk it, because what's the point in having a family if you're not going to really participate in it, you know?"

However, Parker says there have been occasions where she and Broderick were working at the same time, making it difficult to spend quality time with their children.

"It was so hard on the kids," she said. "On the other hand, there are big chunks of time when we're home a lot more than conventionally working parents. So you hope to make up for it."

However, a new survey by the American Sociological Association suggests "supermums" such as SJP need to be realistic about balancing motherhood with work.

"Somewhat ironically, women who don't expect to be able to balance work and family have better mental health than those who do," explained researcher Katrina Leupp.