The Science of Motherhood

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.

Your parents or your in-laws are going to tell you they did things differently and you turned out fine, right in the middle of a conversation about sleep safety or feeding choices, and you can feel the eye roll building before they've even finished the sentence. Their love is real, and you don't have to brace for it each time they visit.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White unpacks what grandparents and in-laws genuinely need to know before the baby arrives, cutting through outdated advice to share what the current evidence actually supports, what's changed, and what's genuinely worth doing differently.
You might be pregnant or newly postpartum and quietly dreading the moment a well-meaning relative tells you how it used to be done. If you're the grandparent listening in, most of those moments come down to a gap in information that's easy to close. Start the conversation early, and you give your village the chance to actually hold you up, the way you deserve.
You'll Hear About:
Why vaccinations protect newborns before six weeks
How updated safety guidance differs from old advice
What matrescence means for the woman you love
Why cuddles are something to be earned
How to offer help without the unsolicited opinions

You don't have to manage anyone else's feelings while you're still learning your own baby. The right people in your life will meet you with curiosity instead of correction, and that's the kind of village worth building around yourself and your baby.
Share this with the grandparent, aunty, or friend who wants to support you well, and with the parent who needs the words to start this conversation early. 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
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.