Read Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's movingly honest post about miscarriages
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan had two big announcements today. The first: They're having a baby girl. The second: Priscilla had three miscarriages before reaching a point in her pregnancy where the chances are now very slim of a reoccurrence.
Their miscarriage news is huge not because it's rare, but because it's so rarely talked about. Though the American Pregnancy Association says as many as a quarter of all pregnancies end in miscarriages, women aren't exactly eager to shout from the rooftops that they lost a baby. But in Zuckerberg and Chan's Facebook post, they expressed their hope that their announcement will help other women to share their stories.
It might already be working. "Congratulations Mark!!!" one commenter wrote below the post. "And thanks for sharing your story. I've also dealt with years of fertility struggles and loss, and it often feels like a incredibly lonely and isolating experience. I've only found recently that by opening up more about these hardships that you find many others with similar experiences […] Good luck with everything and enjoy fatherhood. Hope our kids can play together one day."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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