Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday they’re expecting a baby girl. In a very poignant Facebook post, the couple also shared openly about several miscarriages Priscilla Chan had in her attempt to have a baby.
“This will be a new chapter in our lives,” Zuckerberg wrote in the post. “We’ve already been so fortunate for the opportunity to touch people’s lives around the world … Now we’ll focus on making the world a better place for our child and the next generation.”
He added that Priscilla Chan suffered three miscarriages.
“You feel so hopeful when you learn you’re going to have a child,” Zuckerberg continued. “You start imagining who they’ll become and dreaming of hopes for their future. You start making plans, and then they’re gone. It’s a lonely experience. Most people don’t discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you — as if you’re defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own.”
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan met back in 2003 while they were both students at Harvard. He never graduated because he focused on launching Facebook instead. It seems that has certainly paid off for the dad-to-be.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan announce pregnancy, open up about heartbreaking struggle http://t.co/YcBhc0kHtl pic.twitter.com/y3oQcEq0Vj
— People magazine (@people) August 1, 2015
Zuckerberg explained that he and Priscilla Chan decided to share the story of her miscarriages in hopes in might help other couples who are going through a similar experience.
“When we started talking to our friends, we realized how frequently this happened,” he wrote. “We hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we felt.”
He added that Priscilla and the baby are doing well.
“Our good news is that our pregnancy is now far enough along that the risk of loss is very low and we are very hopeful,” he wrote.
“In our ultrasound, she even gave me a thumbs up ‘like’ with her hand, so I’m already convinced she takes after me,” he added.
Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan Expecting a Daughter http://t.co/lo25UyFR4C pic.twitter.com/i05IZr1m5m
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 1, 2015
Congratulations to Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan on their exciting news and kudos to both of them for sharing their story with others.