Thriving through motherhood’s journey

When Philippa Scott’s husband Trevor recently asked her who the most important person in her life was, she had no hesitation in saying “me”.

It’s taken many years of traumatic experiences and health challenges, followed by a period of self-discovery and education, for Philippa to accept this huge mindset shift. Now, she’s running a successful business called Fantastic Futures, helping mums to understand that self-care isn’t selfish – it’s sacred.

The daughter of a preacher, Philippa grew up believing that to be of value, she needed to fill her life with acts of service. She attended 15 schools in 13 years and was also home-schooled for four years.

“I made friends easily but there was never any stability for long-term friendships,” Philippa says.

“When you’re the minister’s daughter, there’s a huge amount of expectation. So, I left home when I was 16 because the pressure was too much.”

Life did not get any easier, however.

“When my boyfriend was 17, he committed suicide,” Philippa adds.

Later, she experienced what is referred to as ‘obstetric violence’ during the births of her first and second children. It galvanised her into advocating for better birth choices and she started a consumer group called Friends of the Birth Centre Townsville in 2003. The centre officially opened in 2008 and is still operational today. Philippa is now the National coordinator of Homebirth Australia.

In addition to her own maternal struggles, Philippa says she experienced years of burnout: “For mums it’s even worse because we are supposed to work like we don’t have children, and parent like we don’t have a job.”

Philippa was in a high-pressure role, working 50 hours a week as a business manager for a leading automotive dealer, when she was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue.

“I had four children and was studying for a degree in sociology. I had been so busy for so long that my brain was foggy. I went to my doctor and said, ‘I don’t know what’s happening but I’m just not okay’.”

He recommended that Philippa take three months off work.

“That was not possible, so I looked for a different job and discovered Judith Richards who created The Richards Trauma Process (TRTP),” Philippa says.

“Within two weeks of completing the therapeutic sessions, my whole nervous system had reset and returned to ‘calm’. I started working for Judith, onboarding practitioners to do TRTP training. I quickly trained in it myself.”

Philippa says most people have never experienced ‘calm’.

“Even as children we are raced from activity to activity, never being still and at peace. We never lie on the back lawn anymore. We’re so busy entertaining our children, keeping our houses Instagram worthy and being on performing mode.”

She says the statistics are shocking: “In the deaths that occur in the first 12 months of having a baby, 24 per cent is maternal suicide and that says to me that those women have an emotional load that is too heavy for one person.”

Philippa is not only the founder of Fantastic Futures but also The Mother Awakening: a movement helping women heal the root causes behind stress, shutdown and reactive parenting. She incorporates TRTP therapy into her own program: The Regulated Mother Method.

“It’s a complete nervous system transformation for mothers and families, which includes an online, nine-module parenting course with easy activities to do during the week. It’s not teaching people how to change nappies: it’s about relationship parenting, connection, communication, behaviour and the tools you need to be an authentic parent that’s right for you.”

She also has a podcast called The Family Architect and a community space to support it with two live sessions each month when participants can ask questions and access resources.

Philippa’s work has been recognised nationally and she was a finalist in this year’s AusMumpreneur Awards, earning an Honourable Mention in the Women Changing the World category.

“It’s nice to be recognised for what you’re doing but for me, it’s about acknowledging that mothers do matter and that the work we do today impacts future generations in a positive way.”

BY THE NUMBERS

• one-in-five mothers battle perinatal depression or anxiety
• 100,000+ families are affected by birth trauma every year
• up to 20 per cent of couples divorce within five years of their first child
• children of struggling parents face higher risks of mental health.

‘Building A Village’ of support was a godsend for Liz

Liz Teece with daughters Eleanor and Harriet

In 2017, Liz Teece, of Nambour, had the world at her feet.

She was co-owner of Northpoint Photos: a successful and fast-growing photographic business specialising in childcare photography. The business had a full diary of work, a stable staff team and strong systems and procedures.

The time was right for Liz and her husband Justin to start a family. Liz fell pregnant easily, with a due date of January 2018. Everything was going according to plan, but the first big hurdle was just around the corner.

“Weeks before giving birth, half my workforce resigned quite unexpectedly,” Liz recalls. “The timing presented a huge challenge as we had wrapped up our shooting for the year, which didn’t allow me the opportunity to train any new staff members. In our line of work, on-the-job training is extremely important.”

Suddenly, Liz was facing the reality of having to be operational almost immediately after giving birth.

“Any first-time mother can attest to that being terrifying and extremely emotional, as I had a very clear picture of the type of mother I wanted to be. I worked hard – and quickly – to hire new staff, and flew my business partner Jacqui Piggott, from North Queensland, to help train, so they could hit the ground running once shooting began in 2018.”

The second hurdle arrived on the day they brought their daughter Eleanor home from hospital.

“My husband, who was a graduate paramedic at the time, was offered a permanent position with Queensland Ambulance. However, he would be based in Toowoomba, meaning he would now live away five days a week. This limited my support at home significantly and I had to find a way to make my world function.

“As an extremely proud woman, asking for help was difficult. I had to get comfortable asking for it. This meant asking for help from family and consulting a psychologist to find my way through some of the tougher moments.

“I also employed a nanny to help with Eleanor and support me at home, allowing me hands-free time to be there for Northpoint Photos.”

Liz credits “building a village of people” to help her survive the first year after Eleanor’s birth: “It was filled with challenges. However, it was the meal being dropped off by a friend, my mum and dad driving in the middle of the night to walk the hall with Eleanor so I could sleep, and the Sunday family dinners where I could hang out with my family.

“It was also the amazing and compassionate staff I employed that year to give me those much-needed days to figure out how to be a mum and business owner.”

Three years later, Liz had daughter Harriet. This time, she felt more equipped to cope. She trained her nanny to also work in the business and built an office and workshop at home.

Some challenges remain. Justin is still stationed in Toowoomba and has been on the transfer list to the Sunshine Coast for the past four years. They remain hopeful that he will be transferred soon.

Meanwhile, the business is thriving. Liz recently won the award for Sustainable Business Woman of the Year at the 2025 Sunshine Coast Business Woman of the Year Awards.

“I couldn’t be prouder of what we are building at Northpoint Photos – and the fact my children get to be a part of it, well that’s the icing on the cake,” she says.