Though there are no hard numbers, reports would seem to indicate that the number of moms who actually do run away — or at least walk away — is increasing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of single fathers has been rising steadily, from more than 600,000 in 1982 to more than 2 million in 2011. Anecdotally, too, we’re hearing more from mothers who leave their children due to choice or circumstance. There’s Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, who wrote in an essay for Salon.com that she realized, when her sons were 3 and 5 that she didn’t want to be a full-time mother anymore. There are even support groups now for women who decide to leave their children.

What is happening?

It’s hard to say, but our increasingly me-first world might have something to do with it. According to a study published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science, clinical narcissism –defined by heightened feelings of entitlement, decreased morality and a dog-eat-dog mentality — has increased by 30% over the past 20 years. Two out of every three people now measure high for the disorder…

Could this imbalance of responsibility and expectation be another reason more women are abandoning their children? It’s possible. As one married mother of two, Janelle, told me, “My husband doesn’t do much. I have to do and plan for everything myself.” It’s easy to see where resentment could come in.