Did you just take the test and find out you're pregnant?

If so, congratulations, it's time to treat yourself! Your body is about to put in the work to create the most perfect little being who will have all your love. 

Maybe you know someone who has recently announced their pregnancy? Now is the time to make sure you offer your congratulations, even if you already knew for a while already. A unique pregnancy gift is a great way to honor mama-to-be and her needs.

Expecting mothers frequently consider making serious lifestyle changes when they're responsible for two souls at the same time. What they once considered acceptable in terms of food, household products, and even cosmetics might not seem acceptable anymore. An unborn child is defenseless in the womb, relying on their mother for protection during the trimesters between conception and birth. Gifts for new moms should reflect this.

Caring for an unborn child is a serious responsibility, but relying on organic products has benefits for the mother as well. Not only can pregnancy go safely and healthier, but the positive impacts can last much longer.

A process called microchimerism takes place, one where the genetic material of the unborn child leaves a distinct footprint on the mother, one with impact long after birth. In as much as a mother's genetic material make up her child, the child's own DNA can cross back through the placenta and manipulate the physiology of the mother.

This is a huge reason why focusing on organic selections during pregnancy helps both mother and child, during pregnancy, and also long after. Keep all of this in mind as you shop for gifts for new moms. This is just as true for shopping for yourself as it is for someone else.

Organic cosmetics are much closer to becoming an accepted norm than many people realize. Even though the term "organic" is heavily weighted towards natural products, this is a trend that is quickly changing. The big push towards organic products comes from the consumer and environmental movements.

Organics have become much more accessible in the last few years, especially with the rise of organic products for general use such as food and household cleaners, organic hand soaps and baby lotions, and other organic products. These products are made without using synthetic chemicals, preservatives or artificial fragrances. Organic cosmetics are becoming a growing segment of the beauty industry.

Six Reasons To Use Organic Products During Pregnancy

Organic food isn't allowed to have artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. In fact, there are less than 40 overall synthetics allowed in packaged organic foods, and the few that make the list have gone through a thorough review by experts in both government agencies and independent organizations.

Cosmetics and personal care products are a different story. Many ingredients in them aren't as thoroughly researched. As much as your body can absorb things you don't want through eating, drinking and breathing, it can also do so through direct skin contact. At least some of that will eventually get through your child's placenta and into the womb.

During pregnancy, it's crucial to choose organic products over selections that contain chemical residue, sulfates, phthalates or parabens or have a background involving cruelty or economic degradation. Knowing why you should avoid each is crucial, but so too is knowing how to find better choices in each category.

Why Are Sulfates Bad?

It first helps to know what sulfates are. They're cleansing agents. Responsible for the lather from soaps and shampoos, sulfates get rid of oil and dirt on your body.

The modern market has over a hundred distinct variations of sulfates. Some of them come from natural sources, such as palm oils or coconuts. Others are synthetic, derived from products based on petroleum and sulfur.

What are the problems with sulfates? First, they're known to prematurely cleanse hair dye. Second, several studies involving humans have shown a tendency for sulfates to irritate skin and eyes in people, even if not quite to an allergenic level.

Another complicating factor is that while you can read the label and see something that has no sulfates, you might not immediately know what replaced it. Non-sulfate synthetics might be technical replacements that aren't highlighted or even that much better.

What You Can Do: Sulfate-free cosmetics are available at every price point in the current cosmetic market. Having said that, they don't produce as much foam, if any.

Look for organic component replacements. SLSA stands for sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, a foaming agent derived from palm or coconut oil. Also, check for ethylhexylglycerin, a plant-based preservative.

Why Are Parabens Bad?

Parabens are a kind of preservative. They're typically used for preventing bacterial growth in many products. However, they're also known to recreate particular characteristics of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is of course a crucial factor in fertility. When your body has too much estrogen, you can have a hormonal imbalance. One potential implication is reduced levels of healthy eggs.

Men aren't immune to this either, as they can wind up with lower sperm counts. Given this, quite a few doctors think that parabens need to be avoided, despite the fact that they're so prevalent in soaps, creams and makeups. Many physicians even further advise the elimination of parabens from your system not just during pregnancy, but also during conception and even six months prior to conception.

The FDA generally assumes that parabens are safe at levels of up to 25 percent, even though some research indicates that parabens are present in cancerous breast tissue. These preservatives are often indicated on ingredient lists with prefixes such as propel-, butyl-, iso- and methylparaben.

What You Can Do: Simple ingredient reading and research take care of this one. Watch out for the four paraben variations just mentioned in any products you use. If an ingredient list isn't readily available on the product or the manufacturer's website, then consider the product suspect and move on to other things to other gifts for new moms.

Why Are Phthalates Bad?

These are responsible for many products having the scents that they feature. The problem is that synthetic fragrances, such as perfume, are quite heavy with specific phthalates known to disrupt hormones that are essential to the production of breast milk and fertility. Further complicating matters is that phthalates aren't for fragrant products, partly due to the FDA not requiring manufacturers to actually disclose these ingredients.

What You Can Do: 'Fragrance-free' is a selling point attractive to many consumers these days, so look for products that advertise this on the packaging or in the sales description. If you still want something scented, consider essential oils as organic alternatives. They usually make great gifts for new moms.

Why Should You Choose Environmentally Friendly And Cruelty-Free Products?

Going organic means more than avoiding certain chemicals and compounds. You should also look for products that are eco-conscious and cruelty-free in their development.

The Importance Of Cruelty-Free Products

Cruelty-free shopping is gaining traction across makeup, sunscreen and shampoo. Consumers just don't like the idea of new lipstick shades being tested on cute little mice. Still, you don't have to go overboard and join PETA or become vegan.

Cruelty-free products have many advantages. They're generally cleaner and healthier, so they don't result in inflammation, allergies, and breakouts.

They help you practice more mindful beauty, which means you're more careful in your product selections. Your bathroom will get uncluttered in a hurry.

You'll save animals from cruel experiments. It's not always literal 'lab rats', as there might also be testing on rabbits, dogs, and cats. These poor critters frequently wind up blind, maimed, or even killed.

You have the power to take a stand against animal cruelty. Make a statement with your spending money. In fact, many cruelty-free brands are just as affordable if not more so, thanks to thousands of safe alternatives that didn't involve animal testing, so it's not really necessary in the first place.

What You Can Do: Look for a bunny logo. There are three certified bunny logos in the industry indicating authentically cruelty-free products, but do verify you're not getting taken in by fakes when you look for gifts for new moms.

The Importance Of Environmentally-Friendly Products

Also known as eco-cosmetics, these are products designed, created, and produced in ways that are in alignment with sustainable development and maintaining the health and natural wealth of the world.

If you don't use eco-friendly products, then not only are you exposing yourself to chemicals and synthetic compounds, but also the Earth. Anything on or in your body will eventually get into the soil, air, and water. Eventually, they can get far enough to bleach coral reefs thousands of miles away.

Of course, your own health right where you are matters greatly too. Some research suggests that one human body might take in 11 pounds of hurtful substances just from beauty products per year. A lot of that has to do with organic products lacking in poisons and pesticides on top of parabens, sulfates, and other unpleasant things.

What You Can Do: Don't just check for natural ingredients. Truly environmentally-friendly brands not only make sure that they are developed so, but they also make sure consumers know it. They go into how they source and extract their ingredients, as well as how they work with them.

Why Should You Avoid Chemical Residue

Chemical residues can take many forms, but one to be specifically concerned about during pregnancy is the group of bisphenols. Bisphenol A or BPA is a problem for many expecting mothers in the third trimester in particular since they're supposed to drink a lot of water.

BPA is found in many baby bottles, water bottles, plastic food storage, tableware, and even baby bottles. The problem with BPA is its toxicity, which can impact even those not trying to conceive. This toxic chemical can disrupt the endocrine system, resulting in higher chances of breast cancer, reproductive issues, and developmental disabilities. Obviously, several of these things impact unborn babies. In fact, BPA can result in lower fertility levels and recurring miscarriages, so avoid it even before trying to conceive if you can.

What You Can Do: The anti-BPA backlash has fortunately created a strong market for such products. Not only can you find products without BPA, but you'll find many that proudly advertise this particular fact. Retailers, including EBay and Amazon, have entire BPA-free shopping sections. Also, Consumer Reports routinely tests quite a few products for the veracity of their claims.

Why What You Use During Pregnancy Matters

Being pregnant means caring for two souls at once. Many would argue that motherhood is too, but after delivery, you can have others help you care for your baby. When they're still in your womb, you alone are responsible for both yourself and your child.

Pregnancy has a long-lasting impact on a woman's body, ranging from changes in breast texture and size to changes in fat cells and their distribution. Skin and hair changes abound, as do changes in menstrual cycles for some women.

While these changes are often inevitable, it's a mixed bag of good versus bad. What is known is that in nearly every case, sticking to organic products, particularly with pregnancy cosmetics, makes everything go better than it could otherwise.

How Ecocentric Mom Can Help

Ecocentric Mom offers products like these for mothers to use for themselves, their baby, and throughout their household. If you're looking for an easy way to treat yourself to good things, or you need a good gift idea for the expecting mother in your life, consider an Ecocentric Mom subscription gift box.

These boxes show up on a regular basis to keep an expecting mother constantly stocked up on organic products that help her stay healthy and safe while also looking beautiful, giving her the self-esteem she needs to carry herself and her child through this trying time with style and grace.

The boxes feature a lineup of different products, so expecting mothers can try and sample many different things easily and quickly, increasing their chances of finding the next winners in their self-care regimen.

Boxes have multiple products for pampering moms but also specific to the baby or pregnancy. The products are matched for the relative age of the baby or pregnancy stage.

If a monthly subscription seems like too much, there are also quarterly subscriptions based on trimesters. You can also always get a one-time trimester mystery box. This still makes for a wonderful pregnancy gift, although there are options for after-delivery too if you're that late in looking for gifts for new moms.