Silicon Valley is getting a major new addition — no, it's not another photo-sharing start-up. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced Friday that they are expecting a baby girl.
In true Facebook fashion, Zuckerberg announced the momentous occasion on his social network (the full text of the post is below). In the announcement, Zuck shared some news that some have considered taboo, and that many will find heartening: He and his wife have been trying to have a baby for several years, and Chan has suffered three miscarriages along the way. The couple decided to be open about their struggle after privately talking with friends; they learned how common it is to have difficulty conceiving but eventually end up with a healthy child.
We send our congratulations to the parents-to-be and look forward to seeing how Silicon Valley will evolve now that one of its younger leaders is adding "Dad" to his title.
Zuckerberg said:
This will be a new chapter in our lives. We've already been so fortunate for the opportunity to touch people's lives around the world — Cilla as a doctor and educator, and me through this community and philanthropy. Now we'll focus on making the world a better place for our child and the next generation.
We want to share one experience to start. We've been trying to have a child for a couple of years and have had three miscarriages along the way.
You feel so hopeful when you learn you're going to have a child. 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.
In today's open and connected world, discussing these issues doesn't distance us; it brings us together. It creates understanding and tolerance, and it gives us hope.
When we started talking to our friends, we realized how frequently this happened — that many people we knew had similar issues and that nearly all had healthy children after all.
We hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we felt and will help more people feel comfortable sharing their stories as 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.
Cilla and our child are both healthy, I'm extremely excited to meet her, and our dog Beast has no idea what's coming. In our ultrasound, she even gave me a thumbs-up "like" with her hand, so I'm already convinced she takes after me.
We're looking forward to welcoming her into the world and sharing more soon when she's ready to come out and meet everyone!