This week Mom Notebook is featuring a brand new website dedicated to promoting healthy self-care routines and peace-of-mind for pregnant women.

Have you ever seen a photo of a pregnant woman from the 1970s? Remember the one that features a gorgeous mom-to-be who is wearing a long, flowing, maxi dress with flowers in her long, beautiful, shiny hair? This mom-to-be looks undeniably peaceful, calm, and completely glow with their beautiful bellies carrying the miracle of life inside them. This is what co-founder of Nurtured 9, Lauryn Mandryk, alluded to in her interview with me this spring. What if modern day pregnancy was more about moms-to-be embracing and enjoying their ever-changing bodies? It is Lauryn & her best friend turned business partner, Lindsey McCaleb, hope that Nurtured 9 will do just that! Nurtured 9 is a company that is based around supporting the pregnant woman’s ability to care for herself in the most healthy and graceful way. Nurtured 9 announced their official launch of www.Nurtured9.com earlier this year. “It’s the first website dedicated 100% to pregnancy and focused entirely on helping expectant moms feel their best – inside and out.” Nurtured 9 has recommendations for beauty products that are chosen based on their safety for use while pregnant and recommended based on their quality. The awesome part is that Lauryn and her business partner, Lindsey, did all of the hard work for you!

Lauryn and Lindsey have tested hundreds of products and reported on their top three favorites which they have found effective and essential to their daily routines. What inspired these women to create this resource? When Lauryn was pregnant with her baby girl she observed that there is an endless amount of information online from ‘Everything you need for your baby’ to 'How to be a good mother.’ When she searched the internet for pregnancy health tips there would be a small blurb about pregnancy and how to care for your body. She expressed that it was a frustrating time because she wanted to use products (make-up, shampoos, lotions, etc.) that let her sleep at night, rather than wondering about if they were “good” or “bad” for her unborn child.

I remember when I was pregnant with my baby girl I searched the internet for advice on beauty products that were safe for pregnancy and I had no luck finding anything. I was concerned because I wanted to give my unborn baby the best chance at starting life out healthy and I know conventional beauty products are full of hormone-disrupting ingredients. I went to Whole Foods and bought some very natural make-up that ended up being the wrong color for me and extremely oily. So after a few failed attempts at natural beauty, I went through my first trimester with no make-up and using a hippy shampoo that made my hair into a mess of tangles. I felt defeated, annoyed and unhappy.

Lauryn and Lindsey remember buying natural products and realizing right away that the product wasn’t going to work for them. This got expensive and then they had an idea! They thought there was a niche here… helping pregnant women through this unique and sacred time of their lives by providing this resource of effective and safe products that help them feel beautiful, safe, and vibrant. I asked Lauryn, “When you talk about pregnancy-safe products, how did you come to the conclusion that these were safer than other products?” She replied that first, they compared doctors recommendations for what is safe during pregnancy to online pregnancy safety resources from greenest of the green to more lenient to compile the most comprehensive & current list of pregnancy-safe ingredients. They then tested only products that stand up to that most cautious mama list to narrow the world of products down to Top 3s in an ever-growing number of categories. Next, they created a cheat sheet so if one of their readers has a toner or moisturizer they already love at home, they can compare the ingredients to the list and see if it’s safe. Lauryn said it was pure craziness trying to compare ingredients on that list while shopping for products. Imagine reading through the laundry list of potential moisturizer’s ingredients while shopping in a store to make sure they didn’t have specific ingredients that are deemed harmful. Instead of pregnancy being a magical and empowering time, it felt like a chore; one that Lauryn & Lindsey wanted to alleviate for other moms-to-be!

The next question I had for Lauryn was, “What is it that you hope women gain by using your resources?” I loved her response. She said, “That woman will be able to love pregnancy.” Her friends and people she felt connected to were having uncomfortable pregnancies. She wondered why it wasn’t more of a peaceful and enjoyable time. Each and every woman has a right to have a more enjoyable pregnancy. And thanks to Nurtured 9, that is now possible! She loved being pregnant the first time, despite the stress of finding pregnancy safe products, however, she loves it even more now. She can now use her own resource for her current pregnancy. BTW, Lauryn, huge congratulations on your second pregnancy!

There is more! Nurtured 9 also has a panel of experts that remove an element of stress and focus on more happiness for a more elevated pregnancy. They envision women at peace in their pregnancy alleviating the stress of beauty and stress on the body and mind. She hopes moms can embrace pregnancy and thrive for their 9 months with their unborn child and truly cherish this time. “We basically have resident experts in each category.” Nurtured 9 has a fashion stylist who is actually a celebrity stylist. They also have a hair and make-up artist (celebrity make-up artist) and even a prenatal yoga expert. There is also a prenatal nutritionist on board. I seriously wish this resource was around when I was pregnant with my baby.

When I asked Lauryn about her favorite go-to product on your site she explained, “My favorite product also has a favorite ritual.” During her pregnancy, she would get restless legs before bed. To help ease the discomfort she rubbed in some Biossance Oil and then dry brushes all over. This is followed by using The Mama Stone which is actually body lotion in a solid form made specifically for moms-to-be. She described this as a “Heavenly ritual.”

Another essential is the shower scrub called Herbivore Coco Rose Body Scrub, which smells so good and feels so indulgent. She admitted that she’s obsessed with it. Her final go-to product was Olio E Osso , a clean blush, lip & cheek all-in-one stick (in #2 french melon).

I got excited about the prospect of looking and feeling great without having to stay up late researching products on my phone or driving to Whole Foods just to read ingredient labels from their Vegan make-up line. Nurtured 9 has the answers you are looking for! These two women, along with their team of professionals, have done the hard work for you. So now you can sit back, take that bubble bath and rest your mind without giving up your self-care routines and needs. Oh, and you can buy all of these products and more on their site! www.Nurtured9.com

Everyone benefits from clean beauty. On the Detox Market, there is a statistic about 5,000 products that are banned from beauty care. And there are five that are banned from US products. In California, there is legislation that is in progress currently on this very issue. This came from a letter sent to me by Dianne Feinstein California Senator, “For many years, I have been concerned with the safety of personal care products, such as shampoo, lotion, makeup, shaving cream, and hair dye. These products are subject to only minimal regulation under laws that have gone nearly unchanged since the 1930s. As new research reveals potential health risks associated with chemicals included in many personal care products, I believe it is important to ensure that oversight laws for these products are brought up to date. That is why I introduced S. 1113. This bill would establish a basic regulatory structure with a uniform national standard and registration of manufacturers and products. It would require companies to keep safety records and report adverse health events associated with their products. S. 1113 would also require the Food and Drug Administration to review at least five ingredients per year for safety.”

Lauryn and Lindsey are ahead of the game with their website Nurtured9. I am thrilled they have created such a wonderful resource for pregnant women. This resource comes at such a critical time for all women. Now that I know regular beauty products are not necessarily safe, I will be replacing these products with ones that are. Thank you, Lauryn and Lindsey, for creating such an awesome resource!

Thank you Lauryn for your time and for being featured on Mom Notebook! We hope to connect with you in the future to learn more about the other areas your resource focuses on too!