In this episode, Dr. Renee White takes a moment to celebrate International Women’s Day by recognising the incredible women who have shaped her personal and professional journey. Motherhood, business, and life are all easier with a strong support system. Whether it’s a friend who always knows the right thing to say, a mentor who pushes us to grow, or a colleague who has our back, these relationships help us thrive.

Renee shares the connections that have influenced her, from business mentors and industry experts to the friends and family who have been a constant source of strength. She also highlights the importance of acknowledging and appreciating the women who champion and support us. This episode is a reminder that we don’t have to do it alone and that when women support women, amazing things happen.

You’ll hear about:

✔️ The importance of a strong support network – Why having the right people around you can change everything.

✔️ Women in business – The accountants, lawyers, and coaches who’ve helped shape Renee’s career.

✔️ Health, fitness, and confidence – How personal trainers and wellness advocates have transformed her outlook.

✔️ Personal reflections on gratitude and growth – The women who’ve inspired resilience, courage, and ambition.

✔️ A reminder to celebrate your own village – Encouragement to acknowledge and appreciate the women in your life.

So, who’s in your village? Take a moment to reach out, say thank you, and recognise the impact the women around you have had. Because when we lift each other up, we all rise.

Resources and Links:

📲 Want to chat more about this? Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Want to learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪If you want to gobble up our famous Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies, look no further!

Women in Business Who Have Supported Fill Your Cup! From mentors to creatives, these inspiring women have played a key role in Renee’s journey. Check out their businesses below.

Laura - Koustas and Co

Alex - Atticus Lawyers

Fiona - My Daily Business

Amy - Sunmother Studio

Eilish - ArtGym

Giulia - Firefly Digital Support

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review. Your support helps us reach more mums who need to hear this message.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by the Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice.

Nothing contained in this podcast 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.

[00:00:27] I'm Dr. Renee White, and this is The Science of Motherhood hello and welcome to episode 165 of The Science of Motherhood. Thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Dr. Renee White. I am your host and today, gosh, we are so good with timing on this. It is International Women's Day. Hallelujah. Um, in today's episode, I'm gonna be giving a huge shout out and talking about key women in my life [00:01:00] who have made a serious, serious impact.

[00:01:27] You've learnt something really informative. I would absolutely love. Please, please, please write a review. You have no idea how important it is to really accelerate and gain awareness for this podcast, and that is what we are trying to do day in and day out. It is a passion project for me. I love being able to talk to guests and being able to give you the information that they are doing in the research lab or they have, you know, worked out themselves. I want to be able to give that to you so, so quickly instead [00:02:00] of being stuffed away in like a journal article or some book or something like that. So if you have found any of my episodes super helpful, please write a review.

[00:02:32] And I think that holds true also for womanhood as well. And today I wanted to do a really quick shout out because I don't talk about these people enough because it's not normally a personal kind of episode for me on our check-in Tuesday episodes, and so I just wanted to call out some certain people in my life and I know that there's gonna be people who I miss.

[00:03:18] And they've named a few different areas to look at, and I've kind of just used that. As some little, little, uh, what shall I call it, platforms to jump from and when I'm gonna call out few people in my life that have made some serious kind of core memories for me. And being able to, I think, accelerate my professional career, me personally, like it has just been so useful to have these people around me, and I've always understood the concept that, you know, we can't know everything, and that's fine, and that's actually great because when you want big. Impactful things. [00:04:00] You need a group of people, you cannot do it alone. Um, it's too exhausting and it's too lonely as well.

[00:04:36] Now, the first set of people I wanna call out is I am terrible at numbers. Okay? I'm a scientist, I've never, I've never done well with numbers. Maths was not my strongest suit. So I have an amazing accountant in my team, her name is Laura. She, um, I'm gonna call her out. She works at Koustas and Co in Melbourne.[00:05:00]

[00:05:29] She's also a mum as well, to two boys, so she gets it. The whole motherhood thing, she totally gets. The second person I wanna call out is Alex, alex is our go-to um, lawyer. She's at Atticus Lawyers. She has founded that practice, so she's badass as far as I'm concerned. Anyone who has got the bravery and audacity to start their own law firm, I'm just like, all hail to you Alex, like you are absolutely [00:06:00] amazing. The thing I love about Alex is that given that I'm from like a law background as well, you have, you can see that there are certain people who are just like absolute sharks and who just will keep that timer ticking. Alex is amazing. She's so pragmatic and she's just like, gives you exactly what you need.

[00:06:48] Just amazing. I have followed her podcast for so long and then I was so fortunate to be able to have an opportunity to work with her in small group [00:07:00] coaching, which is fantastic. I've got all of her books, definitely she is, um, My Daily Business so if you wanna look her up, she's absolutely amazing. The other person I wanna give a huge shout out to is Amy Pearson from Sun Mother Studios.

[00:08:09] The next topic on the International Women's Day kind of section is helping women and girls make informed decisions about their health. Now, this has been a huge topic for me in the past couple of years. I was always kind of conscious of health and wellness for myself, particularly after I became a mum and you know, then we slipped into Covid Lockdowns, and when I came to Tasmania, I joined a new gym.

[00:09:02] Um, her name's Eilish Kidd and she is, I'm she's a force to be reckoned with, but she's so quiet and lovely and unassuming. But that woman, again, there's a running theme about people who sit and listen and you want to be heard as a woman and she did that. She did exactly that, and she listened and heard me and really kind of dive deep into like.

[00:09:57] Um, by men, um, [00:10:00] that I wasn't strong enough that I just couldn't do it, that my wrists were too weak, that it just was never gonna be possible, which I told Eilish at the time, and she called BS on it and we trained and trained and trained. And last year I did one by myself and I can now do multiple, which is amazing.

[00:10:45] And it is essentially about it is about bush walking, but it's so much more than that. It's about building women's bodies up so you are fit and strong and that you [00:11:00] can actually go in a bush walk and hold a 15 kilo pack and be like, I got this. Right. It's about the relationship building, it's about the storytelling that you have with the people that you are walking with.

[00:11:37] I wanna put myself out of my comfort zone, and that is what I'm trying to do as I get older. And she has been absolutely amazing with all of that, all the discussions about, you know, being confident enough to, um, wee in the bush and all of those things, all the way to like, you know, what food to pack and what gear to get and all of those, you know, beautiful [00:12:00] things when it comes to camping. So big shout out to Eilish and Josie, and I have to say to Miskad as well, who, who is Eilish's, um, husband he also owns the gym and he has been amazing. I can't leave him out. He's been amazing when it comes to my fitness as well. Couple of other things that I wanted to touch on, providing women and girls with access to quality education and training.

[00:12:54] So that was a huge, huge impact for me so when I was doing my [00:13:00] PhD, there was Lakshmi and Beck and Nat, and I was the baby of, of the lab. So, that was a really, really good opportunity. There was also another woman, and I do talk about this briefly sometimes. I was fortunate enough to go over to Sweden and work in another lab over there for two weeks and there was this woman called Anna and she ran the, ran the lab and I have never seen.

[00:13:57] And yeah, she has [00:14:00] definitely instilled some core memories in me at that time. The final kind of topics that, uh, that are on there are promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls, and I guess, you know, just addressing all further areas when it's supporting the advancement of women and girls.

[00:14:52] When time gets tough, they're the ones who are al always there, the ones who go and get tattoos with you. They're the ones who you keep [00:15:00] around. And finally, I just wanted to, um, finish up with the people, I guess here at Fill Your Cup. I've got an amazing new virtual assistant, Giulia, who honestly, it feel starts to feel like she's my second mum.

[00:15:40] I'm so fortunate to have these amazing doulas, um, who I get to work alongside and who, um, you know, can look after families across Australia. I'm so proud of the work that we do. So, yes, thank you to you, to you all. I, I'm not gonna sit here and rattle off all the names [00:16:00] 'cause there's past and present and, and there's definitely gonna be future as well.

[00:16:42] So I just wanna leave you with that. Think about those people in your life and maybe text them and just let them know. I appreciate you. I really do. Alright, everyone. Happy International Women's Day. I will see you next week. Bye. If you loved [00:17:00] this episode, please hit the subscribe button and leave a review.

[00:17:35] Ensuring you feel nurtured, informed, and empowered so you can fully embrace the joy of motherhood with confidence. Until next time, bye.