'Grey's Anatomy' star Ellen Pompeo: What worries me about my children's health

"I really think that anxiety is at an all-time high in children," she said.

May 8, 2018, 3:30 PM

Ellen Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" may be riding high as both star and producer of one of TV's most popular shows, but when she leaves the set, her focus is all about her three children - Sienna, Eli and Stella.

One of her biggest concerns regarding her children is anxiety and their future.

In a sit-down interview recently with "GMA," Pompeo, 48, expounded on why her new partnership with Young Living's new line of kid-specific Essential Oils is so near and dear to her heart.

"I have three babies, so I've used a lot of diaper cream, baby oil, all this stuff," she said. "I really think that anxiety is at an all-time high in children."

Oils dispersed into the air with ingredients like lavender are often used to relax and calm people, though Pompeo admits there's no scientific proof behind that. Even so, she's seen a real positive effect and change in her children from using the plant.

PHOTO: Ellen Pompeo and Stella Ivery arrives at the Premiere Of Disney's "A Wrinkle In Time"  on Feb. 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Ellen Pompeo and Stella Ivery arrives at the Premiere Of Disney's "A Wrinkle In Time" on Feb. 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Steve Granitz/Getty Images

"My daughter has now started to have lockdown shooter drills at her school," she explained. "You can't even listen to the news anymore. Whatever we can do to take care of our children and whatever I can do as a mother to empower my kids to have tools to calm themselves down, to feel better and happier, I need to do that. I believe in the power of scent."

One of Pompeo's proudest moments happened recently when Sienna, 3, came to her recently and said, "Mommy, I'm not calm, can I have my oil?"

"I just feel so proud that not only has she learned to sooth herself, but she's learned to ask for help ... it's a full circle of pride," she said.

In addition to using oils and scent to calm her children down, she recently became a vegan, a change that she made not only for herself, but her kids as well.

"I've always been into organic eating. I wasn't vegan before, that's a really new thing," she explained. "But I don't want to say I'll never have another ice cream cone, I will of course ... It's just the older I get -- and I'm around a lot of doctors because of my job -- people are just getting sicker and sicker. We are getting further and further away from natural things and I think it's making everyone sick."

Pompeo is careful about the products and companies she promotes and with whom she works.

"If I have a platform and I can get out and speak about plant-based products, I need to," she said. "Too many young women I know who have died from cancer, too many women on my social media that tell me they have cancer ... and any company, who cares about the way they are growing products, not using pesticides, not using chemicals, I have to use my platform to promote them."