Priscilla Chan on Sharing Her Struggle to Get Pregnant: ‘There Are Really Dark Moments’
Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook
Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are hitting the Facebook “Wow” emoticon with every one of their newborn’s milestones.
The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Maxima Chan Zuckerberg, in December 2015. Sitting down with Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, Chan opened up about watching their baby girl grow.
“Max is wonderful,” Chan, 31, said. “Mark and I are just over-the-top proud of everything she does. She could be eating. She could be spitting. She could be sleeping. She could be just smiling and we’re, like, ‘Oh, isn’t that special?’ ”
She adds, “As a pediatrician, I have to say, that is just normal development, there is nothing special about it. But as a parent, everything is the most — it’s a miracle.”
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Chan also spoke about how motherhood has changed her perspective on her aspirations and motivations.
“You just love that little being so much, more than you ever thought was possible,” she said. “And you have so many hopes and dreams for that child. And that drives me to want to work harder and invest now to make sure that the future is where it needs to be for all of our children.”
Chan was there to discuss the future, as she and Zuckerberg, 32, announced their investment of $3 billion to prevent, cure and manage all diseases within their daughter’s lifetime.
Priscilla, happy first Mother's Day! You hold us up so we can experience the greatest adventures in life.
And while Chan and Zuckerberg are a happy family of four, including their dog Beast, the road to motherhood was not an easy one. She spoke to Guthrie about the couple’s decision to share their struggle to get pregnant on social media.
“Sharing our experience with pregnancy was incredibly important because we realized how challenging and difficult that was and there are really dark moments where you think you’re alone,” she said. “We realized that we weren’t and that there were other people traveling along the same road with you. I think having that, knowing that you’re not alone, was incredibly important for us. And we wanted others to know that they weren’t alone either.”
As for the couple’s social media star dog welcoming his baby sister? Chan said it has been an adjustment for the floppy-haired pup.
“Beast is moping a little bit, to be honest,” she said. “But he loves her, too. He just realizes that it’s not all about him anymore.”
And though Beast has made a lot of friends on social media, Chan said the heiress of Facebook will have to wait until she’s age-appropriate.
“Max will have her own Facebook page, but she’ll need to wait ’til she’s 13, when she’s old enough to have one,” she said. “She has to follow the rules.”
— Blake Bakkila