Mark Zuckerberg’s social network is about to get just a teeny bit bigger. The Facebook CEO posted that he and his wife Priscilla Chan are expecting a baby girl. While the Zuckerbergs posted a family announcement photo, the couple also surprisingly opened up about the challenges they had with trying to conceive and Chan’s miscarriages.

“We want to share one experience to start,” Zuckerberg wrote. “We’ve been trying to have a child for a couple of years and have had three miscarriages along the way.”

“This will be a new chapter in our lives. 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 focus on making the world a better place for our child and the next generation.”

Zuckerberg Triumphs Over Struggles

Zuckerberg decided to share the details about the miscarriages to help create “understanding,” “tolerance” and “hope” among people during difficult times.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Zuckerberg added that he started to talk to friends and realized issues around pregnancy are all but too common.

“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.”

The couple married in 2012 during a surprise ceremony held in the backyard of their home in Palo Alto, Calif. in front of about 100 guests.