The Science of Motherhood

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.