Facebook CEO Zuckerberg and wife expecting a baby girl

[SAN FRANCISCO] Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are expecting a baby girl, he said on his Facebook page on Friday.

The couple, who married in 2012, have been trying to have a child and had three miscarriages, he wrote. Mr Zuckerberg, 31, did not say when their daughter is due but said the pregnancy was far enough along that the risk of miscarriage was low. "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," wrote the founder of the world's largest social media network.

Mr Zuckerberg, who often uses his Facebook page to make both corporate and personal announcements, opened up about the emotions he and Ms Chan, who is a doctor, have felt while trying to have children. He wrote about the hope they felt upon learning about each pregnancy. "You start making plans, and then they're gone. It's a lonely experience," he posted. "Most people don't discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you. So you struggle on your own." Mr Zuckerberg noted that Ms Chan, 30, and their child are both healthy and that he would share more as her due date approached. "In our ultrasound, she even gave a thumbs up 'like' with her hand," he wrote, "so I'm already convinced she takes after me." The couple met at Harvard University as classmates and dated for more than a decade before tying the knot.

REUTERS