Social networking site Facebook has launched a new feature on its website that allows parents, who are expecting a baby, to share the good news with their friends.
Under ‘Life Event’ in the Timeline set-up of a Facebook profile, users can choose ‘Expecting a Baby’ and share their unborn
child''s name, expected birth date and gender.
“Life Events are easy and expressive ways to mark significant moments in your life such as getting married, buying a house or traveling to new places. If you choose to, you can now share that you are expecting a baby with your friends on Facebook,” the Daily Mail quoted Facebook, as saying, in a statement.
However, the firm said that it has not ruled out using the service to target parents with adverts for baby-related good.
“Currently, we are not using this life event for ad targeting. We’ll explore the option in the future, as we observe how people use the feature,” a spokesman for the firm said.
However, some bloggers have pointed out the service could cause problems, should there be problems with the pregnancy, or even if a miscarriage occurs.
“On the spectrum of touchy emotional moments, a miscarriage ranks pretty high. If you toggle the "Expected: Child" option, imagine how difficult it is to deal with that loss in public,” Rebecca Greenfield wrote on the The Atlantic Wire.