Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is going to take paternity leave

Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he will be taking a break from work following the birth of his first child.

In a post on his Facebook timeline the workaholic announced he'd be taking two months off, an unprecedented move for the boss of a company as big as Facebook.

Facebook allows parents of both genders to take up to four months paid parental leave, which can be taken at any time during a year. Federal law in the US means that companies are not obliged to cover a single day of time off following the birth of a child.

Zuckerberg said it was "a very personal decision" he and wife Dr Priscilla Chan had made ahead of the arrival of their daughter.

"Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families", he wrote.

The couple announced they were pregnant in July and spoke of their difficulties conceiving and the heartbreak of three miscarriages in the two years they had been trying for a baby.

Zuckerberg did not say who would be replacing him at the company.

But he did post a photo of the couple's dog Beast, waiting next to an empty pushchair:

More: Mark Zuckerberg wants to end the taboo around miscarriages

More: The 14 books Mark Zuckerberg thinks you should have read this year already