You might wonder what a doula actually does, or whether having one is worth it when you've already got a partner and a midwife by your side. There's a lot of noise out there about what the role really involves, and most of it doesn't reflect what a doula is actually there to do. A doula's real job is to be a steady, judgement-free presence, there for exactly what you need and out of the way for the rest.

There's a lot to untangle about where a doula fits, what they actually do in the room, and how that support changes depending on how your birth unfolds.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Amanda Down, Fill Your Cup's longest-standing birth doula, to unpack what doulas actually do and how they fit alongside midwives and partners. Amanda draws on years of supporting mamas through pregnancy, birth and postpartum to explain how doulas build trust, advocate in the birth space and adapt to whatever a family needs on the day.

This is Part 6, the final instalment, of our Pregnancy and Birth series.

You'll Hear About:

• What a birth doula does day to day
• How doulas differ from midwives in your care
• Why prenatal sessions focus on trust first
• How doulas support partners through labour
• What the BRAIN tool helps you decide

Wherever you land on the spectrum of support you want, you get to decide what your birth looks like and who stands beside you for it. Amanda's approach is a reminder that you don't need permission to trust yourself, only the right people in your corner.

Share this with a friend who's weighing up whether a doula is right for her birth team. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

Connect with Dr Renee White

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

📲 Connect with Renee on LinkedIn: Renee White

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

Someone in your life has probably already told you what pregnancy is "supposed" to feel like, whether you asked or not. When what you're going through doesn't line up with that, it's easy to wonder what's wrong with you instead of questioning where that advice even came from.

These are the myths mums are told to accept without question, pulled apart to show what happens to your confidence when you stop challenging them.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Dr Emma Black, Clinical and Perinatal Psychologist, to bust some of pregnancy's most persistent myths. Together they unpack where these beliefs come from, why they stick around for generations, and how mums can start trusting their own judgement instead.

This is part 5 of 6 in our Pregnancy and Birth series.

You'll Hear About

• Why the nesting instinct myth doesn't hold up
• What the 12 week rule was really protecting
• How to respond when unsolicited advice keeps coming
• Why gender disappointment is often grief in disguise
• How to build confidence to do pregnancy differently

You're allowed to question the rules you were handed and keep only the ones that actually serve you. Trust builds when you start choosing what fits your family instead of what's expected of you.

If this conversation helped you see one of these myths differently, share it with a mama who needs permission to let it go too. Subscribe to The Science of Motherhood so new episodes land in your feed each week.

Resources & Links

Connect with Dr Renee White

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

📲 Connect with Renee on LinkedIn: Renee White

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Connect with Dr Emma Black

Learn more about Emma and her work:

🌐 motherhoodmyths.com.au

🌐 townsvillepsychologist.com.au

📲 Follow Emma on instagram: @emmablackpsych

📲 Follow Emma on Facebook: emmablackpsych

📖 The Pregnancy Myths Guide now available in bookstores or online

✨ This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Central Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

Maybe your birth went exactly how everyone told you it should, and you still can't shake the way it made you feel. Maybe it didn't go anywhere near the plan, and somehow you came out the other side feeling strong. Whatever your birth looked like on paper, if it left something behind that you're still carrying, that's worth taking seriously.

This is for you if you've never quite known what to call what happened to you. It's for you if you're getting ready to give birth and want to understand what actually helps when things don't go to plan.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Claire DiCarlo, perinatal counsellor and founder of Rad Parents, to get honest about what birth trauma really is and why it's so often missed. Claire brings both her clinical experience supporting mums through birth trauma and her own birth story, which didn't go to plan, to explore why the people around you matter more than the outcome, and what real support looks like once it's over.

This is part four of the six-part Pregnancy and Birth series.

You'll Hear About:

• What birth trauma actually means
• What actually makes a birth feel unsafe
• Why women blame themselves for someone else's actions
• When birth debriefing actually helps
• How to protect yourself before you give birth

There's no timeline for making sense of your birth, and no version of your story that's too small to matter. However long it takes you to get there, you deserve the space to talk about it.

Share this with a mum who's never had the words for what her birth left behind. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

Connect with Dr Renee White

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

📲 Connect with Renee on LinkedIn: Renee White

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Connect with Claire DiCarlo

🌐 Learn more about Claire’s work with Rad Parents: www.radparents.com.au

🌐 Learn more about Claire’s work with Beyond Birth: www.beyondbirthcourse.com

📲 Connect with Claire on Instagram: @clairedicarlo_radparents

✨ This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Central Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

For generations, birth belonged to community, culture and country. That belonging is being reclaimed inside hospital rooms across Australia today, one birth at a time.

That's the belief driving birthing on country, a way of caring for mothers built on trust, culture and community.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Melanie Briggs, a proud Dharawal and Gumbaynggirr woman and endorsed midwife who manages the Birthing on Country program at Waminda, to explore what birthing on country truly means. Together they unpack the model's remarkable outcomes, the systemic barriers First Nations families still face, and the personal calling that led Melanie to this work.

This is part three of six in our Pregnancy and Birth series.

You'll Hear About

• What birthing on country truly means
• How Waminda's model transformed birth outcomes
• Why continuity of care changes outcomes
• What racism still looks like in maternity care
• How Melanie found her purpose in this work

Birthing on country is a powerful reminder that culturally safe care is every mother's birth right. When community leads the way, mothers and babies thrive.

Share this episode with a mother who deserves to know her birth rights matter. Subscribe to The Science of Motherhood for more conversations that put evidence and community at the heart of birth.

Resources & Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

📲 Connect with Renee on LinkedIn: Renee White

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Connect with Melanie Briggs

📲 Instagram: @birthingoncountry_waminda

📘 Facebook: Waminda - Birthing on Country

🌐 Website: waminda.org.au/maternity/birthing-on-country

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

Most mamas picture birth happening in a hospital room, because that's the only version most of us have ever seen. There's another path many don't even know exists.

Hospital can feel like the only option on the table, but there's a wider spectrum of care available than most mums realise.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Jaimee Smith, endorsed private midwife and manager of the Launceston Birth Centre. Jaimee shares how relationship based care shapes calmer births and why continuity with the same midwife changes the experience for mums.

This is part two of our six part Pregnancy and Birth series.

You'll hear about

• Why continuity of carer changes birth outcomes
• What actually happens inside a birth centre
• How midwives support birth after caesarean
• What private midwifery costs across Australia
• Why home birth differs from free birth

Understanding the full spectrum of care available means you get to choose what feels safest and most supported for your family.

Share this episode with a friend who's exploring her birth options beyond the hospital doors. Subscribe to The Science of Motherhood so you never miss an episode.

Resources & Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Connect with Jamiee:

Website: themidwivesmidwife.com

Instagram: @themidwivesmidwife_

Facebook: The Midwives’ Midwife

Launceston Birth Centre

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

You've probably never been told that a private midwife is even an option, not just the hospital care you default to. That gap in information can shape how safe, informed and supported you feel through pregnancy and birth.

This conversation gives you a real look at what private midwifery care involves in practice, from early pregnancy through labour, and why having the same trusted person by your side changes the experience.

This is part one of our six-part Pregnancy and Birth series.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Kelly Langford, endorsed private midwife and co-founder of MAMA Private Midwifery Practice, to explore what private midwifery care and home birth involve. Together they cover continuity of care, what non-negotiables matter for first-time mums, the physiology behind labour, and how to choose a care provider that feels right.

You'll Hear About

• What private midwifery care actually includes
• Why continuity of care changes birth outcomes
• How physiological birth naturally works
• What pain relief looks like without intervention
• How to choose the right care provider

You don't need a radical plan to feel in control of your birth, only the right information and the right people around you. Understanding your options early gives you the confidence to make decisions that are truly your own.

If this conversation shifted how you think about your birth options, share it with a friend who's navigating the same decisions. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

🌐 Learn more about MAMA and their midwifery services

📲 Follow Kelly and the team at MAMA on Instagram @mamabirth.au

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer

The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

That feeling of not quite recognising yourself after your baby arrives has a biological explanation. Pregnancy reshapes the structure of the brain, and those changes can still be measured years down the track. What you're experiencing is your brain doing exactly what it's built to do.

If you've ever said out loud that you feel like a different person since becoming a mum, you're describing something researchers can now see on a scan. Understanding what's happening in there changes how the whole experience feels.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Dr Elseline Hoekzema, neuroscientist and head of the Pregnancy Brain Lab at Amsterdam University Medical Center, to unpack what pregnancy does to the maternal brain. Together they explore the changes to brain tissue first mapped in 2017, what those changes mean for how you think and feel, and what shifts differently the second time around.

Elseline also works through the questions that flooded in after Renee shared her research on Instagram, covering what might happen with a third or fourth baby, spacing between siblings, pregnancy loss, and what changes for fathers and adoptive parents. She's honest about how much this field still has left to uncover.

You'll Hear About:

• What happens to grey matter during pregnancy
• Why the changes peak in the third trimester
• How a second pregnancy rewires different brain networks
• What the research shows about perinatal depression
• Why your instincts are worth listening to

Your brain has been quietly reorganising itself to meet the exact demands of the life you're now living. Knowing that gives you something solid to hold onto on the days you feel furthest from yourself.

Share this with a friend who's been saying she doesn't feel like herself since having her baby. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

📲 Follow Renee on Instagram: fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Follow Elseline's and the Pregnancy Brain Lab's work on Instagram: @pregnancybrainlab

Explore the Hoekzema Lab research at pregnancyandthebrain.com

Studies mentioned in this episode

📄 Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure. Nature Neuroscience, 2017. PMID 27991897

📄 Do pregnancy-induced brain changes reverse? The brain of a mother six years after parturition. Brain Sciences, 2021. PMID 33525512

📄 Mapping the effects of pregnancy on resting state brain activity, white matter microstructure, neural metabolite concentrations and grey matter architecture. Nature Communications, 2022. PMID 36414622

📄 The effects of a second pregnancy on women's brain structure and function. Nature Communications, 2026. PMID 41714315

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

Your child is banging on the wall, sobbing, and won't let you near them. In that moment, staying calm isn't about having the right words, it's about understanding what's happening in their brain and yours.

This conversation gets into what's happening in your child's brain during a meltdown, and how you can stay regulated enough to help them find their way back.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Dr Tina Payne Bryson, New York Times bestselling author of The Whole-Brain Child and founder of The Center for Connection, to explore what's happening in a child's brain during a meltdown and how parents can respond in ways that build resilience instead of reactivity. They talk through practical, science-backed strategies for staying regulated as a parent, repairing after the hard moments, and why play might be the most underrated tool in your parenting kit.

You'll Hear About

• Why the upstairs and downstairs brain matter
• What to do when your child melts down
• How to stay regulated during a meltdown
• Why repair matters more than perfection
• How play builds resilience and connection

You don't need to get every moment right to raise a regulated, resilient child. What matters is showing up, staying steady in the hard moments, and repairing when you get it wrong.

If this conversation shifted how you think about your child's big feelings, share it with a friend who needs to hear it too. Subscribe to The Science of Motherhood so you never miss an episode.

Resources & Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Guest links:

🌐 Website: tinabryson.com

📩 Subscribe: tinabryson.com/subscribe

📲 Instagram: instagram.com/tinapaynebryson

📺 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCCXGwMEmoL_noUYgx8kpakw

📘 Facebook: facebook.com/TinaPayneBrysonPhD

🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/tinabryson

🏢 The Center for Connection: thecenterforconnection.org

🏢 Play Strong Institute: playstronginstitute.com

🏢 CFC Santa Barbara: cfcsantabarbara.com

🛍 Amazon shop (Tina's favourites): amazon.com/shop/tinapaynebryson

📚 Books: The Bottom Line for Baby, The Whole-Brain Child, No-Drama Discipline, The Yes Brain, The Power of Showing Up, The Way of Play

📱 HumanUp app: humanup.com

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer:

The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

Have you ever seen a headline claiming a certain food can boost your fertility and rolled your eyes? You're not wrong to be sceptical, and most of what circulates online about diet and conception is wellness noise dressed up as science.

This time, the science actually holds up. A new 2026 study traces a real, step by step mechanism from what's on your plate to whether an embryo implants.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White breaks down a new mouse study linking dietary fibre, gut bacteria and the uterine immune system. She walks through how the pathway works, where the research falls short, and what's reasonable to take from it if you're trying to conceive.

You'll Hear About:

• Why mouse studies are used in fertility research
• What the new 2026 fibre study found
• How gut bacteria influence uterine immune tolerance
• Why this mechanism doesn't yet prove human benefit
• What foods support this specific fibre pathway

You don't need to overhaul your diet to take this seriously. Paying attention to fibre quality, not only quantity, is a small, evidence-backed step available to you now. The mechanism is real, even if the guarantee isn't, and that still counts for something.

If this episode helped you look at fertility diet advice differently, share it with a friend who's trying to conceive and wading through conflicting information. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

You've sat through an antenatal appointment focused on blood pressure and bump measurements, wishing there'd been room to talk about how you were actually feeling. Midwives want that room too, working inside appointments measured in minutes. There's real momentum building to bring emotional wellbeing further into that time together.

Two researchers went looking at exactly what that momentum looks like in practice, and how to act on it without asking midwives to find time they don't have.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Lesley Pascuzzi, childbirth educator and perinatal mental health researcher, and her colleague Nicole Freeman, midwife and PhD researcher in early pregnancy care, to unpack what midwives told them about supporting mental health during pregnancy. Together they explore where the system falls short, and the pilot program already testing a different way forward.

You'll Hear About:

• Why the current model centres illness over wellness
• What midwives believe a well woman looks like
• How time pressure shapes mental health conversations
• Why continuity of care changes everything
• What the new pilot program is testing

Knowledge is the foundation of advocating for your own mental health, in pregnancy and beyond. The more you understand about your options, the more equipped you are to ask for exactly what you need.

If you've ever left an appointment feeling rushed or unheard, send this to a friend who's navigating pregnancy right now. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

📲 Follow Renee on Instagram: fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

Connect with Lesley Pascuzzi on LinkedIn: Lesley Pascuzzi

Connect with Nicole Freeman on LinkedIn: Nicole Freeman

This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village, with doulas available across Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice. Nothing contained in this episode is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.