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Knowledge is power. Our aim is to unravel and interpret the latest research and evidence-based practices for pregnancy, postpartum and motherhood. As mums and researchers ourselves, we have experienced first-hand the overwhelming complexity of information, myths and old-wives tales. Even worse, 'advice' is being given to mums without the proper context or knowledge of their individual needs. So tune in to hear us ask experts, researchers and specialists about all things mother care, pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

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The Science of Motherhood Podcast

This week, Dr. Renee White chats with Kelly Langford, founder of MAMA, Victoria’s largest private midwifery practice. They dive into the growing trend of private midwifery and how it’s giving families more choice, flexibility, and support during pregnancy and birth.

One exciting highlight? Recent legislative changes that are shaking up the midwifery landscape! These updates remove the need for private midwives to have a GP or hospital referral to access Medicare-supported services like writing prescriptions, ordering ultrasounds, and requesting blood tests. It’s a game-changer for mothers and midwives alike.

In this week’s episode Dr. Renee White chats with Dr. Laura Gainche, Ph.D., a Family Sleep Educator, neuroscientist, and sleep scientist who is on a mission to help families turn sleepless nights into blissful ones. Through her Science for All Women platform, Dr. Laura uses science and connection to guide parents toward finding their unique way to parent at night.

In this episode, Renee dives deep into the realities of motherhood post-birth and the challenges of managing it on a tight budget. Drawing from her own experiences, she spotlights the essentials, from managing postpartum well-being to ensuring healthy infant sleep patterns, all while staying financially smart.

As Renee emphasizes the value of community, nutrition, relationships, and self-care, she offers an array of free and cost-effective resources to empower and support mothers during this transformative phase.

Need guidance on managing motherhood expenses without compromising quality care? This episode is packed with actionable tips and resources.

In this episode, Renee continues her chat with Emma Watson on about the journey of Family Centred C-sections: How to Advocate for Yourself Part 2. 

They explore the intricacies of Family Centred C-sections, emphasizing the importance of self-advocacy during the process. The journey doesn't end in the hospital; they also shed light on navigating the recovery phase once you're back home. 

If you've ever wondered about the full scope of experiencing and recovering from a C-section, this episode is a must-listen! How prepared are you for the post-hospital recovery journey? Dive in to find out more.

In this check in Tuesday episode, Renee shares fun ideas for spending time with your baby during their first year.   Sharing tidbits from her personal experience and useful resources, Renee offers a month-by-month guide of activities that both entertain and encourage developmental growth.  

How can you bond, play, and aid your baby's development all at the same time? Listen in for relatable stories, chuckles, and golden tips!
In this episode, Renee dives into the importance of partner support in the postpartum journey. She shares nuggets of wisdom on how to navigate the demands of a newborn, from diaper changes to dog walking. 

Grab a pen and paper, and buckle up for some helpful tips on how to split responsibilities and create a smooth plan before the little one arrives.
Today Dr Renee White sits down with Professor David Gardner, an IVF pioneer and world-renowned scientist, as well as Virtus Health’s Group Director of ART, Scientific Innovation & Research and Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF.

They discuss the evolution of IVF technology, what were the big leaps in discovery and how is artificial intelligence playing a role in successful IVF outcomes.
Today's episode is a bit of a heavy one. Dr Renee White is chatting with Dr Hazel Keedle about her 2022 publication detailing the obstetric violence experiences of women in Australia. Three key features came out of the study, the feeling of being dehumanized, violated and powerless. Listen in to hear more about how Dr Keedle devised and analysed the study and what the next steps are in her research.

Dr Hazel Keedle, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer of Midwifery at The School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. Hazel has more than two decades of experience as a clinician in nursing and midwifery, educator and researcher. Hazel’s research interests are vaginal birth after caesarean, birth trauma and maternity experiences explored primarily using feminist mixed methodologies. Hazel's work is recognised nationally and internationally, with many invited conference and seminar presentations including, academic publications and a book for women based on her PhD findings ‘Birth after Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth’. Hazel is the lead researcher on the largest maternity experiences survey, The Birth Experience Study.
In today's episode, Dr Renee White speaks with Dr Melanie Jackson, 'a.k.a Melanie The Midwife' about the Australian Birth System - How we got here? Where did it all go wrong? What you should know before birthing your baby?
Today was Part 2 with IBCLC, Naturopath and Midwife, Joelleen Winduss Paye to discuss what to expect and how to best prepare for those Golden Hours of Breastfeeding. We explore antenatal expressing, what to expect in those first few hours, is nipple pain normal and how to best nourish your body to support your breastfeeding journey.
Slip your Modi Bodi's on for this episode Mamas, because you are probably going to wet your pants with laughter. P.S. Not sponsored - just bloody love those undies!
Today Dr Renee White chatted with B from Core and Floor Restore about vulvas, villages and
everything in between. The conversation goes on some twists and turns about birth, continuity of care - sharing from each ones experience. Let it be known, this is only Part 1.
Are you ready for a life-changing podcast? Dr Renee White sat down with Dr Nicole Gale, specialist GP and Lactation Consultant who practices Breastfeeding Medicine and Perinatal care for mothers and babies.
Dr Gale discusses why mothers are reverting to more traditional models of care for their babies, the evolutionary mechanisms at play with the newborn breast crawl and explores the physical, mental and emotional symmetry of the mother:baby dyad.
Today Dr Renee White chats with Professor Alison McMillan, Australia's Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer regarding Influenza and the importance of vaccinations. We deep dive into the safety and efficacy for patient groups like pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as small children.  
Today is part two of my conversation with Dr Pamela Douglas the founder of the non-profit Possums for Mothers and Babies and authour of the internationally renowned book.,The Little Discontented Baby Book in which she beautifully illustrates through evidenced based research how and why it is normal for babies to cry/fuss in the first 16 weeks of life.
Dr Greer Kirshenbaum is a neuroscientist, doula and infant sleep specialist. On Today's episode we discuss the neurology / physiological changes in the first 4 months of a child life; How can we best support our children and what common myths or societal norms are perhaps dampening this support? And of course,  the process of matrescence and the physiological changes to a mother's brain.
Kath Baquie from Fitnest Mama discusses the physiological changes are women's body goes undergoes through each trimester of pregnancy, when a mother should engage a pelvic floor physio and what movement mamas can be doing to accelerate postpartum recovery.
Today Dr Natasha Vavrek, GP and Director of The Bubble Launceston talks about women can do at each stage of conception, pregnancy and postpartum if they contract COVID. We also discuss COVID-19 vaccinations and effects on your menstrual cycle, breastfeeding while having COVID and preventative measures.
Today we spoke about women's health, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. Dr Natasha Vavrek spoke candidly about supporting mothers through contraception, conception and birth trauma. I especially love Natasha's practice because she integrates her general practice with a POSSUMS accreditation in Neuroprotective developmental  Care and collaborates with other likeminded health care professionals like social workers and pelvic floor therapists, providing holistic care to Tasmanian mothers. .  
On today's show Dr Nikki Mills and I explore the world of tongue ties. One of the most hotly debated topics in the newborn babies arena, Dr Mills is an ENT and specialist in the area having recently published several seminal papers discovering the true anatomical structure of the frenulum.
Dr Susic, is a clinical research fellow in the field of obstetrics and a PhD candidate at the Microbiome Research Centre (UNSW). She also has a daughter Abigail who is 3 years old and has severe allergies, eczema, and Asthma.
Greetings from Tasmania! Today I chat with Tasmania's one and only CalmBirth educator, Cherie Chugg.

Cherie began as a doula but quickly identified that supporting women as a doula was not enough. She wanted to reach a wider group of people and wanted to teach more couples about how to be prepared for childbirth.  Cherie knew from her own personal experience that having an understanding of what was going to be happening in her own body helped eliminate any fears around childbirth. 
My Own Birth is an Australia business run by two women, Sarah and Tess. They both are practicing, registered midwives and nurses. These beautiful ladies are on the frontline, seeing first hand what mamas are experiencing and the gaps in birth education. 

Jan has been advocating for women and birth in Australia for decades. She shares the reforms the Australian birth industry has undergone and the steps we need to take to move closer to the better birthing practices.

Travelling around Europe in a Combi van with her husband in the early 70’s, Jan was one of the original flower children when she fell pregnant with my first child, Emma. 

The disempowering childbirth that delivered Emma spurred her on to midwifery training, which Jan completed at the Queen Victoria Hospital in 1975, going on to work at Monash Medical Centre for many years. Jan has been in private practice as a midwife for 25 years now and remains committed to avoiding disempowerment of the family during pregnancy, birth and beyond.

In this episode we discuss the longitudinal data Professor Hannah Dahlen and colleagues from South Australia, UK and Netherlands elucidated when researching the long term effects of induction of labour of low risk mothers. The study included over 470,000 participants and collated data from over 16 years post-birth, which is the first of its kind. 
Despite all her education and experience in the field of psychology, Stefanie Poole was not immune to the mental strain of motherhood. 

Stef talks candidly about her birth trauma and her experience with postnatal depression. What she did to recognise it and her everyday tools she uses to manage her diagnosis. 
Stefanie is a Mental Health Doula,™ counsellor, educator and mental wellness advocate who supports families to create and maintain a healthy heart and mind. She is the founder of Mumma Bees ™, (Peer Support and Training for Birthing Families), Birth Education For A Healthy Heart & Mind, ™ and Kindred Clubhouse.

Dr Pamela Douglas is the founder of the non-profit Possums for Mothers and Babies and authour of the internationally renowned book, The Little Discontented Baby Book in which she beautifully illustrates through evidenced based research how and why it is normal for babies to cry/fuss in the first 16 weeks of life.

Meg is a Physio, Mum to 3-month-old Akira, and the face behind Hey Mama Physio, a practice and movement studio dedicated to pre and postnatal Mamas. 

She has keen thirst for knowledge, is a nerd for scientific evidence, and has a passion for integrating that information into choices and lifestyle in simple and realistic ways. This is not only how she works clinically as a Physio, but is the basis of how she approached decision making during her own pregnancy, birth and postpartum, and now motherhood.

Meg also has a big passion for helping women approach pregnancy and postpartum holistically and openly, encouraging conversations about all things including mental health, family dynamics, and pelvic floor issues including incontinence, pain and return to sex. 

Anna Cusack is a Motherhood Revolutionist. As an author, podcaster, blogger and speaker, Anna reaches thousands of women every year with evidence-based information and inspirational, actionable content. Anna combines her knowledge in areas such as traditional postpartum care, breastfeeding support and exercise physiology to guide women through their transition to parenthood and early years of mothering. Her services include postbirth planning, in-home and online postbirth support, and mentoring for mothers and the professionals who work with them. 
Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based  prenatal nutrition. Her work is known for being research-focused, thorough, and unapologetically critical of outdated dietary guidelines. She is the author of two bestselling books, Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes.
In this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr Nicole Highet, who is the Founder and Executive Director of the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE).  We spoke about the amazing resources COPE has to assist new parents during pregnancy, birth and beyond. But the most interesting and valuable takeaways were our discussions are risk factors of perinatal mental health disorders, birth trauma and the effects of COVID. 
My goodness, this interview was an absolute HOOT! Meghan Telpner is a Toronto-based author, speaker, nutritionist, and founder of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition. She's written two bestselling books: UnDiet: Eat Your Way to Vibrant Health and The UnDiet Cookbook. Meghan's success in cultivating a global community of UnDiet enthusiasts and Culinary Nutrition Experts has garnered her a feature in Forbes, and ranked her as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. Alongside all her professional accomplishments, Meghan is a hilariously empowering woman. I found her discussion on letting go and not buying into mum guilt so refreshing. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!
Now it's Dr Renee White's turn in the hot seat. As a Type-A personality we explore the challenges of pregnancy and postpartum life, taking a 'break' in your career, sleep deprivation and ultimately learning to let go. 

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