The Science of Motherhood

Somewhere between announcing baby number two or three and the baby actually arriving, there's a question nearly every mother asks, how do you stop your toddler from resenting the baby. Underneath it sits a quieter fear, that loving a second child might mean taking something away from the first.
Decades of research on sibling adjustment paint a far gentler picture than we once assumed. This transition responds beautifully to preparation, the same way baby's arrival does.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White unpacks how to prepare your toddler for a new sibling, from the first conversation to the everyday job that makes the shift feel like theirs. She covers the play-based science behind emotional regulation, a ritual for protecting your quiet moments, and two ways to ask for support.
You'll Hear About:
Why toddler sibling transitions rarely become a crisis
When to start talking about the new baby
How giving your toddler a real job helps
Why play does more work than you'd think
Two ways to ask your village for help

Your toddler can move through this gently, with the groundwork you lay now. Every small job, every basket, every hand from your village adds up to a softer landing for both your children.
Share this episode with a friend expecting baby number two or three, she'll want this before the due date. 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_
🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services
🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies
🎧 Catch up on the power of play with Tina Payne Bryson in Episode 236
A few books worth having on hand before baby arrives:
Waiting for Baby by Rachel Fuller
I'm a Big Sister / I'm a Big Brother by Joanna Cole
I'm Going to Be a Big Sister / Big Brother by Brenda Bercovici
The New Baby by Mercer Mayer
Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

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're sent home with a breast pump after birth and left to work out the rest of your pumping and breastfeeding journey on your own. No one mentions flange size, settings or the fact you might not need to sterilise a single part.
Pumping comes with more variables than most mums are ever told about, and working them out alone in the middle of exhausted, hormonal days makes everything harder than it needs to be. Understanding what actually matters can take a lot of that pressure off.
In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Fotini Gniel, founder of Nurturing Flow and breast pump and flange fitting specialist, to work through everything mums are rarely taught about pumping, from flange sizing and settings to choosing the right pump and caring for exclusive pumpers. Together they bust some of the most common myths mums are told in hospital and beyond.
You'll Hear About
Why flange sizing changes your whole pumping experience
What pump settings actually support comfort
Why sterilising pump parts isn't strictly needed
How to choose the right pump for you
What exclusive pumpers need and rarely get

With the right information, pumping can feel manageable, straightforward and genuinely doable.
If this conversation changed how you think about pumping, share it with a mama figuring hers out alone. Subscribe to The Science of Motherhood to keep these conversations coming to your feed.
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 Fotini Gniel
📲 Connect with Fotini on Instagram: @nurturing.flow
🌐 Learn more about Fotini’s work: www.nurturingflow.com.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.

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.