Mark Zuckerberg is going to be a father for the first time.

The Facebook founder celebrated his good news – and his personal pain – in a powerful status update.

Mark Zuckerberg is many things. The creator of Facebook, a billionaire philanthropist, and now, he can add father-to-be to the list. Zuckerberg and his wife Dr Priscilla Chan, who have been married since 2012, are notoriously quiet about their private life, with Zuckerberg preferring to share more about his charity efforts on Facebook than holiday snaps.

But today he shared his big news with an acknowledgement of the pain that can come with a journey to parenthood.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan celebrating New Year 2015. Image: Facebook.

Zuckerberg has written about the three miscarriages he and his wife Priscilla have privately suffered. He hopes that honestly speaking about the issue will help others who have experienced loss:

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!

The pair (and their dog, Beast) are clearly thrilled. Just look at those smiles.

Check out that dog. So shaggy. Image: Facebook.

We couldn’t be happier for the couple.

Want to see more of the duo (and their pup)? Click through these pictures.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan

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Facebook billionaire shares the painful secret behind his wife's pregnancy.