This Sunday is Mother's Day in the U.S. What does the holiday mean to you?

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Sunday is Mother’s Day in the U.S. Around the world, countries tend to honor Mom one day each spring. But the truth is: For millions, it’s just another day in poverty.

This week, let’s look at how well we honor mothers and motherhood. Has this become a hollow holiday?

You have to raise that question when you consider facts like these:

* About one in four American children are raised in single-parent families, and most of these are headed by a single mother.
* Single-parent families are much more common here than in most other Western societies.
* Eight-five percent of single-parent families with children under 18 are headed by women, as are 92 percent of single-parent families with children under 3.
* Poverty rates are the highest for these single-parent families headed by women, compared to these families headed by men or a married couple, especially if they are African American or Latino families.

This situation doesn’t appear to be improving! If the Republican plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system becomes law, women and mothers will suffer more than others, since almost two of three recipients of Medicare are women.

With the voucher system, they will end up paying more and more healthcare costs. Men will, too, but there’s a crucial difference, says Jeffrey Lewis, president of the Heinz Family Philanthropies.

Women who raise children or care for elderly parents are more likely than men to work part-time, take the “mommy track” or take several years out of the workforce. Given the way Social Security is calculated, this means that they will get far less money when they retire — and far less money to pay for healthcare with the voucher system.

Just how much money are we talking about? “Women who work as full-time, non-paid caregivers for aging parents, disabled children, etc., lose approximately $650,000 in lifetime wages and retirement benefits,” notes Lewis.

The increasing number of single-mother families is only one of several trends that are transforming marriage, family, and child rearing in the U.S. More unmarried couples and more same-sex couples are also raising kids — and more women are choosing to be single moms by having children without a husband or male partner.

How do Americans feel about all this?

Americans are divided into three categories by their responses, according to a new Pew Research Center study that examined attitudes about single mothers and family-related trends:

* ACCEPTERS (31 percent) generally feel that these trends make no difference to society. Women are more likely to be in this group, as are Latinos, secular adults and those who live on the East Coast.
* REJECTERS (32 percent) dislike every change in family structure, saying that these trends are bad for society. Rejecters tend to be white, older, Republican, married and religious.
* SKEPTICS (37 percent) are tolerant of these changes, but worry that they may be bad for American society.Young Americans, Democrats and minorities tend to be in this category.

There’s more! Single moms get special attention, and it’s not positive. Almost all Skeptics and Rejecters agree that a single woman having children without a male partner to help them is bad for society.

How did the Accepters respond to this question? Well, they were — more accepting. Only 2 percent of Accepters expressed the strong negative viewpoint on single motherhood. While they were accepting, they weren’t overflowing with praise. Only 13 percent of Accepters said that women raising kids without a male partner is good for society.

If they’re lucky, Mother’s Day means carnations, cards, and dinner out. But for many mothers in America, Mother’s Day is just another day in poverty or discrimination.

How will you honor mothers this week?
How do you feel about single moms overall?
Are single moms good or bad for our society?

Dr. Wayne E. Baker is a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Baker blogs daily at Our Values and can be reached at ourvaluesproject@gmail.com or on Facebook.