Fertility preparation begins months, sometimes years, before you start trying to conceive. Knowing what to look for, and when, could change the entire shape of your conception journey.

If you've ever wondered whether your body is actually ready for pregnancy, or whether there's something your results aren't telling you, this conversation will change how you think about your health.

In this episode, Dr Renee White sits down with Megan Haralampou, degree-qualified Naturopath, Nutritionist, and Biomedical Science graduate, to unpack what a truly comprehensive pre-conception blood panel looks like and why the standard tests often aren't enough. Together they explore iron absorption, thyroid antibodies, cycle tracking, postpartum blood work, and how to read your results through an optimal lens.

This is episode one of our six-part Trying to Conceive series.

You'll Hear About:

• Why "normal" blood results can miss a fertility concern
• What a complete iron picture actually looks like
• How to track your cycle beyond a period tracking app
• When to get blood tests done after having a baby
• What postpartum thyroiditis has to do with depression

Understanding your body before pregnancy, and after, is one of the most practical things you can do for your health. You deserve care that looks at the full picture, not just what fits inside a reference range.

Share this episode with anyone who's thinking about trying to conceive and wants to go in prepared. And subscribe so you don't miss an episode of The Science of Motherhood.

Resources & Links

Connect with Renee

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 Megan

Website: thebiomedicalnaturopath.com.au

📲 Follow Megan on Instagram: @thebiomedicalnaturopath

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 been so sick in pregnancy that you couldn't keep water down, lost weight, or ended up in hospital wondering how your body was supposed to sustain a baby when it couldn't sustain itself? If that's your story, or the story of someone you love, you've probably also been told at some point that it was stress, anxiety, or something you just needed to push through.

It wasn't. And the science has finally caught up with what HG patients have been saying for decades.

In this episode, Dr Renee White unpacks the genetic and hormonal research that proved once and for all that hyperemesis gravidarum isn't psychological. It lives in a gene, it runs through a receptor, and it has nothing to do with how much you wanted your pregnancy.

You'll Hear About:

• Why HG is a distinct condition from morning sickness
• How a placental hormone called GDF15 drives severe nausea
• Why your baseline levels before pregnancy predict your risk
• What the beta thalassemia finding revealed about sensitivity
• How pre-pregnancy desensitisation could prevent HG entirely

Your body wasn't failing you. It was responding to a hormonal contrast it hadn't been prepared for, and now researchers know exactly why. The science sees you, and it's moving fast.

If someone in your life has been through HG, share this episode with them. It might be the first time the biology's been explained in a way that finally makes sense. 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.

⚠️ Content note: This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, suicide, and depression.

If you've been through fertility treatment, you already know it's more than a medical process. It's months, sometimes years, of appointments and numbers and waiting, with very little space given to how you're actually doing.

There's research showing that nearly 50% of people in fertility treatment develop PTSD, regardless of whether they get pregnant. Not because they're fragile. Because the system they're moving through wasn't built with their nervous system in mind.

In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Nicole Lange, a trauma-informed acupuncturist who has spent 20 years working exclusively at the intersection of women's reproductive health and trauma. They explore why stress matters more than we've been told, why it matters less than we've been blamed for, and what whole-person fertility care actually looks like in practice.

You'll hear about:

• Why the stress of trying to conceive is on par with a cancer diagnosis
• How chronic stress affects every system involved in fertility
• What the 25/75 framework is and how it changes outcomes
• How acupuncture supports circulation, immunity, and nervous system regulation
• Why whole-person fertility care is the most evidence-based option available

You are not just a fertility outcome. And the care you receive shouldn't treat you like one.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone navigating their own fertility journey. And 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 Nicole Lange

Nicole's website: www.lifehealinglife.com

Follow Nicole on Instagram @notafixer

Follow Nicole on YouTube @thebabyyouwant

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.

Does it feel like your body hasn't quite come back together yet after you've had your baby? That clicking, that instability, that sense that your hips or knees might give way. It's not in your head, and it's not a sign that something is wrong.

So many mums are told that by six weeks, things should be settling. But if you're still breastfeeding and still feeling like your body doesn't quite belong to you yet, that timeline was never based on what your hormones are actually doing.

In this episode, Dr Renee White unpacks why so many postpartum women feel structurally unsound for months after birth, and why the answer has everything to do with a hormone your body is still responding to, whether anyone told you that or not.

You'll Hear About:

• Why relaxin affects every joint, not just your pelvis
• What happens to hormone levels when you're breastfeeding
• How the six-week clearance myth fails postpartum women
• When to seek support from a women's health physio
• Why your joint integrity will return, on its own timeline

Your body isn't broken. It's doing something hormonally complex on a timeline that was never going to fit neatly into six weeks. The integrity will come back. It just takes longer than anyone tells you.

If this episode helped something click for you, share it with a mum who's been told she should be fine by now. 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.

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.