FLORENCE, Ky. — Northern Kentucky native and new mother Erica McCarthy said after giving birth one year ago, she needed to balance her own identity with being a new mother.
What You Need To Know
- According to the National Institute of Health, art therapy can help reduce anxiety during labor and postpartum depression
- It also supports bonding between the mother and infant
- Approximately one in 10 women will experience postpartum depression, according to the Parent-Infant Foundation
- “Yay Yara” is a paint-by-numbers brand, promoting relaxation and bonding with their children
“I just felt I needed a way to just feed my creative side and also hopefully build something that would encourage her to be creative … as she was growing,” McCarthy said.
Even before pregnancy, McCarthy said she feared she would experience postpartum depression.
“You just feel different; you don’t feel yourself,” she said. “I definitely experienced a lot of that, just not feeling like the Erica that I was before in both good ways and not so great ways.”
A survey of more than 1,000 mothers by the Parent-Infant Foundation found more than one in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby. In addition, nearly two-thirds said no one talked to them about bonding or building a relationship with their baby during their antenatal care.
In honor of her daughter, Yara, and acclimating to one year of motherhood, McCarthy launched “Yay Yara,” a paint-by-numbers brand to help people both relax and bond with their children.
“It’s also something that people can do with their kids,” she said. “We have paint kits that are a bit more simple in the design, and then we have paint kits that are a bit more intricate.”
Each kit comes with an instruction’s pamphlet, paint, brushes, reference images and a wooden canvas with the hand-drawn image on it. All of it is because of Yara.
“The colors were inspired by Yara,” McCarthy said. “I wanted it to be something that was bright and fun because she’s a bright and fun child.”
“She’s young. She’s lively. She’s energetic. She’s loud.”
According to the National Institute of Health, art therapy can help reduce anxiety during labor and postpartum depression and support bonding between the mother and infants.
“We can’t be the best mother that we want to be … if we’re not caring for ourselves,” McCarthy said.
The Postpartum Support International website offers resources for those struggling with postpartum depression.
