Mount Pleasant Magazine May/June 2021

www. Char l es tonWomen . com | www. Char l es tonWomenPodcas t . com | www. ReadCW. com CW week obstetrician appointment if she was “OK,” to which she said yes, and she was never mentally evaluated again. “I don’t know exactly what can be done to give moms more resources for mental health, both post birth and all the time, but more should be done,” Yarborough said. “So often when we become mothers, we lose our identities, and if we are not our healthiest, best selves, eventually all the walls fall down.” Later, Yarborough saw her general practitioner and was evaluated and issued a treatment plan for managing her PPD/A. Today, she shares her story with as many people as she can to help create an awareness for the importance of mental health in mothers. “We need to make sure we take care of ourselves first and foremost and then our families,” she affirmed. Jenna Petelle Arsneault, mother of two, said she struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety after the birth of her first son. “I didn’t think too much about the possibility of having PPD/A before he was born,” she confessed. She mentioned noticing a change within herself while still in the hospital, and, over the course of the next few weeks at home, her depression, which stemmed from a plaguing fear of losing her child, really began to set in. “My symptoms worsened over the next couple of months until I was feeling totally helpless, hopeless, unable to eat or sleep and stopped caring about showering or getting dressed.” Arsneault recalled. At the time of her first son’s birth, she worked for a home health agency that strongly encouraged her to place her mental health first and seek professional help immediately. “Once the pressure of going back to work was off, I admitted to myself that I was experiencing more than normal new mom stress and needed some help,” Arsneault explained, after which she struggled to find appropriate help — PPD/A counselors’ schedules were fully booked. She saw a psychiatrist who she felt was dismissive of her concerns but who referred her to another psychiatrist. Eventually, she was prescribed the appropriate medication to better feature Gabr i e l l e Yarborough and her f ami l y. Jenna Pete l l e Ar sneau l t and her f ami l y. Certified Public Accountants and Advisors Business Owners: Are you leaving money on the table? *Mention “COVID Credits” for your free assessment. Let McCay Kiddy give you a free second look for missed COVID money! Our team is finding thousands of dollars left on the table for COVID financial relief for businesses. Contact us to help you maximize some of these benefits. ► PPP Loans 1 and 2 ► ERTC tax credits ► Stay at home tax credits ► COVID quarantine credits West Ashley (843) 266-5400 Mount Pleasant (843) 881-4477 North Charleston (843) 308-1886 McCayKiddy.com ® Photo by E l i zabe th I v y Photography. Photo by Me l i s sa Gr i f f i n Photography.