The Science of Motherhood

Most women who are autistic don't find out until they're sitting in a room watching their child get diagnosed. And then everything clicks.
And yet most of them navigated pregnancy and early parenthood without any evidence-based support specific to their experience, often without even knowing why things felt so much harder.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Dr Abbey Love, Educational Psychologist and Research Fellow at Autism Spectrum Australia, to explore the lived experiences of autistic parents through the perinatal period and the research that led to the creation of the Aspect New Parents Hub. Together they unpack what the evidence actually shows about pregnancy, sensory experience, healthcare barriers and what genuine support can look like.
The hub was built on Australian research co-produced with autistic parents themselves, and what they found has real implications for every neurodivergent woman navigating this season.
This is Part 1 of The Science of Motherhood's three-part autism series, stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 coming soon.
You'll hear about:
Why sensory experiences intensify during pregnancy for neurodivergent women
How autistic parents shaped the research behind the Aspect hub
What healthcare providers say gets in the way of delivering good care
Why continuity of care matters so much for neurodivergent families
How a birth plan can become a communication and advocacy tool

You don't need a diagnosis to find something useful in this conversation. What Dr Abbey Love and her team found is that neurodivergent parents bring enormous strength and competence to this season, and the gap isn't in them, it's in the support around them.
If this episode resonated, share it with someone who might need to hear it. And subscribe so you don't miss the next 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
About Dr Abbey Love and Aspect
🔗 Explore the Aspect New Parents Hub: Autistic Pregnancy and Parenthood Hub
🔗 Learn more about Dr Abbey Love and the Aspect research team: Aspect Research Team
🔗 Connect with Aspect on Instagram: @aspect_aus
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 survived birth, the sleepless nights and the newborn haze. And then somewhere around three or four months in, you reach up to wash your hair and pull your hand away covered in it.
It's alarming, and for most of us, nobody warned us it was coming.
This episode is for every mum who has stood over the shower drain wondering if something is seriously wrong. It isn't. But understanding the biology behind what's happening makes it so much easier to move through.
This is part of The Science Behind series, where Dr Renee White takes your real questions and unpacks the science in a way that actually makes sense in real life.
You'll hear about:
Why pregnancy hormones cause your hair to stop shedding normally
What telogen effluvium is and why it hits at three to four months
Why you're not losing follicles, just catching up on stored hair
Which nutrient deficiencies can compound postpartum hair loss
When your hair is likely to return to its pre-pregnancy density

Your body isn't falling apart. It's recalibrating. The shedding you're experiencing is a sign of how extraordinary your hormonal landscape was during pregnancy, and your body is simply finding its way back.
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.
If this episode helped, share it with a mum friend who's standing over the shower drain wondering what on earth is happening. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.
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.

We've known for decades that breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. What we've never fully understood is why.
That question is what makes this research so significant.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Professor Sherene Loi, Medical Oncologist and Group Leader at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, to discuss a landmark paper published in Nature that identifies the immune mechanism behind that long-observed link. Together they explore how pregnancy and breastfeeding appear to reprogram the breast's immune environment in ways that can persist for years, and what that could mean for the future of breast cancer prevention.
It turns out the body's been doing something extraordinary all along. Science is only now catching up to explain it.
You'll hear about:
Why breastfeeding appears to reprogram a mother's immune system
How T cells in breast tissue connect to long-term cancer protection
What "anything is better than nothing" actually means for breastfeeding duration
Why women's reproductive history has been missing from major cancer datasets
How this research could shape future prevention strategies for all women

This research doesn't add pressure to the breastfeeding conversation. It adds meaning to it.
If this episode resonated, share it with someone who'd want to understand the science behind their own body. And subscribe so you never 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 Professor Sherene Loi and her lab here
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.

If you've ever been nap trapped and spent the whole time quietly worrying that you're creating a dependency your baby will never grow out of, this one's for you. What's actually happening in your baby's brain while they sleep on your chest is one of the most compelling pieces of science in early infancy, and you deserve to know it.
This episode is for every mum who has sat there convinced she should be doing something more productive, or that the way her baby sleeps is somehow a problem she created. Understanding the biology behind contact napping doesn't just answer the question. It changes how this whole season feels.
This is part of The Science Behind series, where Dr Renee White takes the questions every mama is asking and unpacks the actual biology behind them.
You'll hear about:
Why your baby's brain is still under construction at birth
What oxytocin and cortisol are doing during contact naps
How your body regulates your baby's nervous system
Why your baby's nervous system is designed for a body, not a cot
What the research actually says about contact napping and independence

Contact napping isn't something you stumbled into by accident. It's one of the most neurologically productive things your baby can do, and your presence, even when it feels passive, is actively building their brain. You're not doing nothing. You're doing everything.
If this episode gave you something to hold onto, share it with a mum who needs to hear it. 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.

Most conversations about maternal mental health start in the same place: the one in five women who experience postnatal depression or anxiety. But what about the other four in five? What are we doing to help them thrive?
It is a question that stops you in your tracks, because most of us have never thought to ask it.
In this episode Dr Renee White sits down with Lesley Pascuzzi, an Applied Psychologist and PhD candidate at Curtin University whose research focuses on optimising the mental health and emotional wellbeing of women on their journey to parenthood, to explore what it actually means to feel emotionally well, not just the absence of illness, but something richer and more personal than that. Together, they unpack why so many women struggle to define their own wellbeing, and what it would look like to change that.
It turns out that when women are given the space to think about it, they know what they need. The challenge is creating the conditions for them to hear themselves.
You'll hear about:
Why emotional wellbeing is so hard to define
What perspectives on wellbeing can teach us about inner knowing
How social media falls short for maternal mental health
Why midwifery-led care is key to helping women thrive
How to start trusting your instincts with yourself

You already have more answers about what you need than you might realise. This conversation is an invitation to slow down, get quiet, and start listening for them.
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 Lesley Pascuzzi on LinkedIn
Research mentioned in this episode
Lesley Pascuzzi's research paper: Exploring emotional wellbeing in the perinatal period: A qualitative study in Australia
Best Beginnings study — Hannah Dahlen and Hazel Keedle, Western Sydney University: linked here
This episode is proudly supported by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village.
If this episode resonated, share it with someone who might need permission to think about their own wellbeing for a change. And subscribe so you never miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.
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.