Facebook Mark Zuckerberg (Photo : https://www.facebook.com/zuck)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan are having a baby. But beyond that happy good news that he posted on his Facebook page on Friday that got over 433,000 likes in a few hours, Zuckerberg also changed singlehandedly overnight the social media standing of miscarriages from a taboo subject to one that could also be "liked" at least on Facebook.
It turned out that the 31-year-old father-to-be and his wife, a doctor, have tried but failed thrice in the past to have a baby because Priscilla had miscarriages. Of course, being Facebook's founder, Mark has the privilege of breaking unwritten rule of not posting sad stories.
The pioneer in Zuckerberg prevailed when he posted: "Most people don't discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems would distance you or reflect upon you - as if you're defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own," quotes LA Times.
The couple were aware that some of their friends underwent the same sad and lonely experience of losing a fetus but opted to suffer in silence. About 15 percent of known pregnancies end up a miscarriage, according to The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
But for Mark, he believes sharing their experience will give people the same hope they felt upon getting confirmation of another pregnancy and help them as well feel comfortable sharing their miscarriage episodes.
Among those who liked Zuckerberg's post was Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, who had her own share of grief recently. Sandberg's husband, Dave Goldberg, died recently at the age of 47, and she also shared her sorrow in Facebook.
Renee Dua, a physician and co-founder of startup Heal, said that women who had miscarriage usually share their frustrations with online "mommy" groups. Zuckerberg's action made sharing about life's tragedies "a subject of conversation instead of something to hide," notes Dua.
Netizens, besides liking Mark's post, also shared their experiences with miscarriage.
Nick Bilton wrote, "We were so surprised to learn just how many people go through them, and how few talked about it," quotes Mashable.
Sophia Chung posted about the "incredibly lonely and isolating experience" of struggling with infertility but added that by sharing about it with others who went through the same internal crisis, "it definitely makes the world more open and connected."
Jennifer Schneider Dritz pointed out that infertility and similar topics are not only taboo but are not even covered by most insurers in many states. She hopes that Zuckerberg's trail blazing post would help change the situation so people could "enjoy the dream of parenthood."
