Ep 243. What Does a Birth Doula Actually Do?

What if the most important part of the tongue-tie conversation happens before anyone looks in your baby's mouth? A new review from three surgeons on tongue-tie and breastfeeding says it's worth knowing what that is. If someone's mentioned a tongue-tie during a hard week of feeding, a fix that takes minutes can sound like relief, and that makes complete sense. The review points to what needs to happen first, and it gives you a clear set of questions to bring to your midwife, GP or lactation consultant. In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White unpacks the review and what it means for you. She explores who may benefit from a frenotomy, which method has the evidence behind it, and the support worth trying before anyone picks up the scissors. You'll Hear About: Why tongue-tie procedures rose 420% in a decade Why what the tongue can do matters most Who benefits and how strong the evidence is What the research says about scissors versus laser What to ask before agreeing to a snip

Miscarriage is far more common than we're told, and the silence around it can leave you feeling like you're the only one. If someone has said "at least you can get pregnant" or suggested you focus on the baby you already have, you're allowed to feel those words missed the mark. Your loss is a loss, and you deserve support that treats it that way. Whether you're grieving now, pregnant again and carrying a lot of worry, or wondering how to support someone you love, there's more help out there than you might realise. In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White sits down with Samantha Payne, co-founder and CEO of the Pink Elephants Support Network, to explore early pregnancy loss and the support available. Samantha shares her story of three miscarriages, how her grief became a three-year campaign that changed Australian law, and what care, workplaces and loved ones can still do better. You'll Hear About: Why the 12 week rule needs rethinking How a three year campaign changed Australian law What free support exists after pregnancy loss What current guidelines say after two losses How to support someone through pregnancy loss

If you're a Type A personality, you've probably mapped out almost everything, from the pram research to the hospital bag spreadsheet. And if a quiet voice is asking what happens when you can't control it all, that voice belongs to someone who cares deeply and wants to get this right. Your planning brain is one of your greatest strengths as a mama. It needs a slightly different job description once baby arrives, and the research shows where to point it. In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White unpacks how to prepare for motherhood as a Type A personality, from the surprising origin of the label to what the research says about perfectionism, your remodelled brain and your baby's body clock. She also shares her two-part framework, control the controllables and embrace the spontaneity, along with a confession about a spreadsheet and an algorithm from her first baby. You'll Hear About: Where the Type A label actually came from Why perfectionism makes motherhood feel harder How your brain is remodelled for motherhood Why babies run on a different clock How a two-part framework balances control and spontaneity

You've packed the hospital bag, set up the nursery, and read all the baby books. But there's one family member who's easy to forget until your newborn actually comes home, and that's your dog. The shift from being the centre of your world to sharing space with a brand new tiny human can be a lot for them to process too. If you've caught yourself wondering how your dog is going to cope, that instinct is worth listening to. Getting it right comes down to preparation you can start well before your due date, and a few small shifts in how you read your dog's cues. In this episode of The Science of Motherhood, Dr Renee White chats with Seb Lemaire, founder and head trainer at Canines on Cue Dog Training on the Gold Coast, to unpack how to prepare your dog for a new baby. Seb draws on his own experience as a dad to a toddler and years of dog training to walk through what those first weeks look like from your dog's point of view. You'll Hear About: How to read your dog's subtle stress signals Why your dog's breed says less than you think What to prepare before your baby comes home How to handle that first at-home introduction Why crate training helps your dog switch off

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