Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan expecting a daughter

Mark Zuckerberg is going to be a dad.

The Facebook CEO announced Friday morning that he and wife Priscilla Chan are expecting a daughter. This will be the first child for the couple, who met at Harvard University and wed in 2012.

"In our ultrasound, she even gave me a thumbs up "like" with her hand, so I'm already convinced she takes after me," Zuckerberg wrote in a public post on Facebook.

He also used the announcement as an opportunity to discuss the couple's challenges conceiving, revealing that they have had three miscarriages in the last couple years. "You feel so hopeful when you learn you're going to have a child," he wrote. "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."

Photos: See the happy couple together

He said that the couple found it helpful to talk to friends about their miscarriages and often discovered that others had experienced similar losses. "In today's open and connected world, discussing these issues doesn't distance us; it brings us together," he said. "It creates understanding and tolerance, and it gives us hope."

Chan and the baby are both healthy and Zuckerberg said he's excited to meet his daughter: "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 focused on making the world a better place for our child and the next generation."

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