Unborn child can be part of the family on Facebook

Expectant mums can now officially add their unborn child to their list of family members on the social networking site Facebook.

“Expected: child” joins other options on the list of family members including mother, father and uncle.

The feature allows people expecting a child to add in the due date and even the name if they want to.

Friends

Users who select the option will officially tell their Facebook friends about their forthcoming arrival via an update to their profile page.

A Facebook spokesman told CNN the move was part of helping people to “more accurately express their identity”.

The move may have come about to stop users creating a new profile for their unborn child – something that breaks Facebook rules which say users must be at least 13.

Family

In 2008 the Archbishop of Canterbury emphasised that unborn children are part of the human family.

During his Christmas message he spoke about the importance of the sanctity of life from conception through to natural death.

And he commented: “This is why we cannot regard unborn children as less than members of the human family, why those with disabilities or deprivations have no less claim upon us than anyone else.”