The Science of Motherhood

If you're neurodivergent, the maternity system wasn't built with your brain in mind. The appointments, the environments, the cognitive load of it all. Nobody tells you that's why it feels harder than it should. They just hand you the same pamphlet and send you on your way.
That gap matters even more when you're navigating pregnancy, birth and early parenting. It's not just your body being stretched. It's every system you've built to keep yourself functioning.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Jennifer Curtis, registered occupational therapist and registered midwife, to explore what occupational therapy actually offers pregnant and postpartum women, and why that support is so often invisible. Together, they unpack the very real cost of a health system designed for neurotypical brains, and what it looks like when care is finally built around the whole person.
This is the final episode of The Science of Motherhood's three-part autism series. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, head back to episodes 221 with Dr Abbey Love and 222 with Linda Hollenberg.
You'll hear about:
Why autistic women face higher perinatal health risks
What occupational therapy actually is and does
How sensory processing intensifies throughout the perinatal period
What to ask at your first midwifery appointment to get better support
Why late autism diagnosis so often happens in pregnancy or motherhood

If this conversation opened something up for you, share it with a mum or healthcare provider 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
🔗 Explore the Aspect New Parents Hub: Autistic Pregnancy and Parenthood Hub 🔗 Connect with Aspect on Instagram: @aspect_aus 🔗 Occupational Therapy Australia directory — find an OT near you: https://www.otaus.com.au 🔗 COPE (Centre of Perinatal Excellence) service directory: https://www.cope.org.au
📚 Somatic Maternal Healing by Helena Vissing (Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health) 📚 Matrescence by Lucy Jones
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.

Nobody tells you that the struggles so many neurodivergent women experience during pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood might be connected to how their brain is wired. Because so often, nobody knows. Not the healthcare providers, and not the mothers themselves.
That missing language doesn't just delay a diagnosis. It delays understanding, support, and the ability to make sense of your own experience.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Linda Hollenberg, Autistic mother, research advisor, and learning coordinator and parent educator for Reframing Autism, to explore what pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood can look like through a neurodivergent lens. Together they unpack what it means to move through those seasons without the framework to name what you're experiencing, and what changes when you finally have it.
This is Part 2 of The Science of Motherhood's three-part autism series. If you haven't listened to Part 1 with Dr Abbey Love yet, it's a great place to start.
You'll hear about:
Why sensory sensitivity made HG uniquely devastating for Linda
How autistic shutdown during labour affects self-advocacy
What continuity of care actually means when you're neurodivergent
Why executive functioning challenges are often invisible in postpartum
How normalising neediness builds community rather than dependence

Understanding your own experience is one of the most grounding things you can do. This conversation is a step toward that, whether you have a diagnosis or not.
If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might finally find the words for something they've been carrying. 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
🔗 Explore the Aspect New Parents Hub: Autistic Pregnancy and Parenthood Hub
🔗 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.

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.