Nathalie Walton runs a meditation app for expecting parents—here’s how she stays centered before bed.
Before Bed: Expectful CEO Nathalie Walton Swears by a Weighted Eye Mask and Inflatable Hot Tub
Welcome to Vogue’s very first Sleep Week, where we celebrate the glory of a good night’s rest. Over the next seven days, we’ll highlight our favorite sleep saviors—from pillows and bedding, to night creams and pajamas. Rest easy as we move into longer, more light-filled days ahead.
As the CEO and co-founder of Expectful—a meditation and sleep app for new and expecting parents—Nathalie Walton knows a thing or two about the importance of getting a good night’s rest.
The app was initially founded in 2018, and Walton was brought on in 2020. “I discovered Expectful as a user during my third trimester,” she tells Vogue over a Zoom call. “I had a high-risk pregnancy that was pretty stressful. I've been meditating since 2001 but when I started using the Expectful app, I got really into hypnobirthing, and I noticed within a week that my condition started to stabilize. During my maternity leave, an opportunity to work with them presented itself.”
Her personal experience also led to a passion for advocacy around Black maternal health. “It's so depressing that Black women die in childbirth at a rate of three to four times higher than white women,” she says. “The app essentially saved my own life. And now I have this opportunity to help others, too." So far, Walton has helped to expand Expectful’s Hypnobirthing content, in addition to a library of meditations geared towards Black mothers.
“We did a survey of a thousand pregnant women and new moms and we saw that 68% of them have had their sleep negatively impacted as a result of COVID,” Walton notes. While working to help other mothers get the rest they need, she’s also honed her own routine as a new mom during the pandemic.
Here, she shares the nighttime rituals that help her get the best beauty sleep.
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Akili King
