Porn stars are good mothers. That's what Alana Evans, an adult porn star, expressed when she appeared on Dr. Drew's HLN program on May 1.
The mother of one took questions from viewers and discussed what it's like to juggle motherhood and an x-rated career.
"Porn saved my life. It gave me a way to be with my son, to be with him every day after school," Evans said on the show. "It gave me enough to take care of myself to take care of him, to pay our bills without being on welfare and stay off public assistance."
Evans even came to the defense of "Octomom" Nadya Suleman, who shortly after filing bankruptcy, has reportedly signed on to star in a masturbation video for extra money.
"Any woman who's willing to do whatever she has to to take care of her children -- even if that means doing porn -- good for her," Evans said. "Other people may not agree with it, but ... in reality she is putting her kids first."
And Evans isn't the only parent to note the financial benefits the adult film industry has to offer.
Tyler and Berkley, a young couple who films sex sessions for money, began doing amateur porn to support their baby girl.
"I wanna be able to live a comfortable, happy life -- porn's giving it, so I'm gonna take it," Tyler said in a segment that aired on "Our America With Lisa Ling" in October.
Still, Shelley Lubben, a former prostitute and porn star, said kids never escape the stigma of the job.
"I was in denial that I hurt my child," she said on Dr. Drew's show, as she elaborated on issues her now 22-year-old daughter struggled through because of her job.
"She thought her mom was a big movie star, and she watched the video and goes, 'Oh my gosh. What's going on with my mom?'"
But sometimes taking a job in the adult entertainment industry isn't a matter of right and wrong.
When desperate times call for desperate measures, some parents turn to jobs they'd normally shy away from, just to make ends meet.
"Most sound a little embarrassed," Chris Durst, head of Ratracerebellion.com, told ABC's "Good Morning America" about moms who reach out for jobs in the phone sex industry.
"They say, 'I've tried everything. It's come to the point my family is on food stamps... This is the fastest way for me to get my family back on my feet again.'"
Nevertheless, the jury's still out on whether taking risque jobs to support a family is the right choice.
A February 2011 post on Cafe Mom asked users to weigh in on the question, "Are strippers 'bad' moms?"
"I think I would work 3 jobs of something else just to not strip. I would never want my child to know what I did," one user responded.
However, another user remained adamant against propagating stereotypes.
"I really hate these type of stereotypes...especially if you haven't walked in someones shoes. Choice of occupation has nothing to do on whether or not someone is a good mother or not," she said.
So, do porn and parenting mix? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.