OXYGEN MEDIA POLL STUDY REVEALS ADOPTION IS MISUNDERSTOOD

Survey Coincides With Season 2 Premiere Of Oxygen's Critically Acclaimed Series "I'm Having Their Baby" Premiering On Wednesday, June 12 At 10 PM ET/PT

New York - June 4, 2013 - Oxygen Media released additional findings of a study about family and adoption conducted by uSamp, which shows there are opposing views on whether or not adoption has an affect on a child. The opposing views between adopted children, their families and friends, and those who have not been involved with adoption displays a misunderstanding among Americans. People who have not been involved with adoption have significant feelings towards there being no difference between raising a biological child versus an adopted child:

· Nearly three-quarters of non-adoptive parents don't think raising an adopted child would be any more difficult than raising a biological child

· Nearly 70 percent of non-adoptive parents don't think raising an adopted child would be difficult

More than half of adopted children themselves believe their being adopted creates a difference:

· 51percent of adopted children reveal that their personal adoption story completely shaped who they are as a person

· Though, 29 percent of adopted children's friends and families think adoption had a great impact

The difference of opinion among those who have not been in involved with adoption, and those who have been adopted and their family and friends, shows how an individual's story of adoption can vary depending upon their connection to the process. These study results coincide with the season 2 premiere of Oxygen's critically acclaimed series "I'm Having Their Baby," which provides an intimate and emotional look at adoption by telling the too-often untold story through the eyes of the birth mother, premiering on Wednesday, June 12 at 10 PM ET/PT.

"As a television producer, I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to tell some remarkable stories over the years," said Michael Rourke, Executive Producer of "I'm Having Their Baby." "But never before have I had the privilege of documenting such amazing and brave young women like the ones who appear on Oxygen's 'I'm Having Their Baby.' This unique and groundbreaking look at adoption through the eyes of these incredible birth mothers is an intensely personal and intimate look at the changing face of the American family."

The New Definition of "Parent"

The survey reveals that a "parent" is defined on both sides of the adoption process. A large majority of respondents reveal that once a person has a child they are always a parent, yet a similar large majority also reveal that if someone raises a child, regardless if it is theirs or not, they are also considered a parent.

· 96 percent said once someone has a child, they are a parent for the rest of their life

· 96 percent said that "parent" defines the person who raised the child, with 91 percent believing that someone can be a parent even if the child isn't biologically related

· 61 percent think that you're still a mother even after you place your child for adoption

Children and their Birth Parents

Most people think that adopted children want to meet their birth parents.

· 81 percent think that adopted children want to meet their biological parents

· 46 percent think that an adopted child should have a relationship with their birth parents

· 38 percent of non-adopted parents think that children likely resent their birth parents

· Only 18 percent of non-adopted parents think they resent their adoptive parents

Creating a Family is "A Gift"

When it comes to family, children and adoption, 90 percent of respondents think that children are the greatest gift to a family and 80 percent feel that placing a child with adoptive parent(s) is the greatest gift someone could ever give to another person.

When Adoption is Acceptable

According to the study, the three most acceptable reasons to place a child for adoption are:

· Biological parents are not mentally stable (73 percent)

· The biological mother is a teenager (62 percent)

· Biological parents are financially unstable (46 percent)

While natural conception is the most acceptable way to have a child, according to the survey, respondents also approved of:

· Adoption (92 percent)

· Foster parenting (81 percent)

· Fertility treatments (77 percent)

"I'm Having Their Baby" is an hour-long series that documents a range of poignant, personal stories of women struggling with an unplanned pregnancy and deciding whether or not to place their baby in the hands of another family. Season two delves into the lives of birth mothers entering the adoption process, their family and friends affected by their decision, and in some cases the potential adoptive parents. "I'm Having Their Baby" is produced by Hud:sun Media with Michael Rourke and Bryn Freedman as executive producers.

Oxygen.com launched a web series featuring five of the birth mothers from season one of "I'm Having Their Baby," focusing on the mother's lives and how they are handling the decision to give their child up for adoption, and their current relationship with the adoptive families.

The network also unveiled an emotional docu-short titled "The Untold Stories of Motherhood," which delves into the lives of various people and their individual stories of parenting to showcase the many faces of motherhood. The docu-short, directed by award-winning director Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom), highlights the unique stories of today's new modern families and their remarkable bonds of love, from open adoption to same-sex parenting.. The full docu-short and additional video components are available on Oxygen.com, the show's YouTube channel, Facebook page and is being promoted on national cable television with additional support on our NBC Universal sister networks.

About Oxygen Media

Oxygen Media is a multiplatform entertainment brand that delivers relevant and engaging content to young women who like to "live out loud." Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's media by changing how the world sees entertainment from a young woman's point of view. Through a vast array of unconventional and original content, including "The Glee Project," "The Face," "Best Ink," "I'm Having Their Baby" and "Bad Girls Club," the growing cable network is the premier destination to find unique and groundbreaking unscripted programming. "The Glee Project" is a winner of a 2012 Gracie Award which honors programming created for women, by women and about women for "Outstanding Reality Show." A social media trendsetter, Oxygen is a leading force in engaging modern young women, wherever they are, with popular, award winning features online including www.OxygenLive.com, the real time social viewing party that is also available as an app for the iPhone and iPad. Oxygen is available in 80 million homes, and can be found online and on mobile devices at www.oxygen.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OxygenPR. Oxygen Media is a service of NBCUniversal.

About This Research

Between April 23 and April 29, 2013, the Oxygen Media Insights Group commissioned uSamp Research to survey a nationally representative sample of 1,023 U.S. adults. The survey included questions about respondents' attitudes toward adoption, traditional families, and parenting.

About uSamp

uSamp, the fastest growing company in the Market Research Industry, is a premier provider of technology and survey respondents used to obtain consumer and business insights. uSamp's leading mobile technology and SaaS platform transform the way companies gain intelligence to make better, faster decisions about their products and services by tapping into uSamp's 12 million member global panel of survey respondents. Through uSamp's proprietary technologies for self-serve sampling and survey authoring, companies have on-demand access to millions of profiled survey respondents. uSamp is based in Los Angeles, with five offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The company has more than 200 team members worldwide. uSamp was No. 213 on the 2012 Inc. 500|5000 exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies and is recognized on the 2011 and 2012 Forbes' America's Most Promising Company list. Please visit www.usamp.com