Occupational therapy in Austin, TX specializing in perinatal, infant + maternal health & well-being

Supporting preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and beyond

for infant + maternal health & well-being

Support

Infant Feeding

Maternal Health

Transitions

The transition to motherhood,

Matrescence,

is one big learning curve.

Matrescence Occupational Therapy is a privately owned practice specializing in supporting mothers and their infants through the first year. We serve families in Austin, Texas and surrounding communities and strive to:

Meet You Where You’re At

We meet you wherever you are, physically, emotionally, and in the comfort of your own home.

Always Be Collaborative

We give you the tools, strategies, information and support you need to determine your own goals, problem solve and work toward them as a team.

Be Dyad-Specific

Our holistic approach focuses on the physical and mental health of both parent and baby to addresses challenges by understanding the why and the how.

Infant Feeding

We can help when:

  • You want a game plan for breastfeeding prenatally

  • You are breastfeeding and bottlefeeding at the same time.

  • Your baby is having trouble at the breast

  • Breastfeeding is painful or uncomfortable for you or baby

  • You would like to choose a feeding system that works better for you and your baby

  • Your baby once took a bottle, but is now refusing

  • You need your baby to take a bottle when you go back to work

  • You need a system for pumping or feeding that is do-able.

  • It’s time for your baby to transition to solids

Transitions

We can help when:

  • You are struggling to balance fertility treatment schedules and daily life.

  • You want to prepare your body and mind for pregnancy.

  • You want a plan for recovery after birth.

  • Aches and pains of pregnancy are getting in the way of daily life.

  • You want your home to be set up to make things easier for you and your family.

  • You need to figure out how you will transition in and out of maternity leave.

  • You want to be prepared for postpartum body and emotional changes.

  • You want to get a head start on planning household division of labor and domestic tasks.

  • You’re concerned about your baby’s development.

Maternal Health

We can help when:

  • You feel overwhelmed with everything you need to do.

  • You can’t shake the feeling of being down all the time.

  • You are struggling with postpartum depression, perinatal mood changes and anxiety.

  • You lost track of who you are.

  • The stress of being a mother is affecting your sleep, relationships, or daily life.

  • You feel isolated and could use more support.

  • You feel out of control.

  • You need extra support during family planning.

  • You are battling with physical and mood changes during IVF, IUI, or conception planning.

  • You need more or better sleep.

  • You have aches and pains when caring for your baby.

  • You feel touched out, triggered by noise, chaos and sensory input.

  • You are finding it difficult to schedule in time for healthy eating and exercise, social activity with friends, and time with your partner.

Client Testimonials

  • At 6 months old we found out releasing our baby's tongue tie might be the key to some of the issues we were dealing with. I was stressed, needed a professional second opinion and guidance to handle the situation. Matrescence was recommended to me and I am very happy I reached out. I worked with Jessica and she made a lot of difference in our lives. Baby's tie release was less stressful, we got a lot of support around eating solids and straw-drinking. Improvements on baby's sleep, my own mental health, and confidence in my decisions are among the successes I can name as a result of working with Matrescence.

    Zahra N.

  • I found Matrescence OT at a time when we were struggling with a few different issues with our 2 month old baby. As a first time mom, the support I received from Jessica and Gayle boosted my confidence and gave me the knowledge I needed to feel like I can handle motherhood. Our baby has a tongue tie and we were unable to get him to take a bottle successfully. After one home visit with Jessica, our baby took a bottle and we all feel so much better. All of my questions were answered with supportive feedback and I felt encouraged by them the whole time. They say it takes a village to raise a baby, but in current society that village can be hard to find. Working with Matrescence OT feels like the village I needed. I’ll always be grateful for the support we received and I look forward to reaching out to them again if and when more challenges arise.

    Rebeca Proctor

  • We randomly discovered Matrescence and are so thrilled we did. My 3 month old son started refusing bottles and would only nurse. My mental health was deteriorating badly and it was affecting our whole family. I didn’t even know there was a service that could help us with this. Gayle and Jessica came together to our home to do a thorough assessment. They provided tons of advice from the get go and we scheduled weekly appointments with Gayle. After two sessions we had my son back on bottles! Gayle also suggested we have my son assessed for a lip tie and torticollis. Both of which he had and we were able to make big improvements in his overall wellbeing. We continued to work with Gayle for our family dynamics and postpartum mental health. We’ve seen a huge change in how we manage our life and our stress levels. We’re so thankful to Matrescence and so happy this kind of company exists.

    Hannah Barfoot

  • "Matrescence OT was able to just grab our whole situation and create roadmap for it. I didn't have one, I wasn't really getting one from the other services, which was really confusing and crazy when it was something as big and important as feeding the baby. In a perfect world every new mom, or any mom, who needed it, would have someone like Matrescence OT as they like got launched off and on their path."

    Ramsie Ozanian

  • “There isn’t a lot of big picture postpartum support. I never even heard of it before, honestly. The minute I saw the website I was like, yeah, let's do this.”

    Angie Parkhouse

  • "Getting validated as helped a lot…especially because you’ve been through it, you have been a new mom before. So getting to know somebody that has experienced that and being validated in how I’m handling things, that’s really helped, kind of, with a lot of my stress, a lot of my anxiety, also learning that I had more coping mechanisms than I thought I did."

    Former Matrescence OT Client

  • "Jessica gave us a lot of confidence that we were doing it right. She gave us a game plan and solidified, attainable marks, instead of just having an unknown void. It was like, 'Finally, finally, somebody we can trust and we have a way forward'. Parts of it, were still very hard. But it's just a big stress release."

    Cary Ozanian

  • "I love what Matrescence stands for and I have so much confidence working with Gayle and Jessica knowing their educational background as occupational therapists, but also because they genuinely care about all the mommas!"

    Lindsay Rohler

  • [Gayle was] pivotal in my PPD/Anxiety healing. Truly. Her empathy and vulnerability made a huge difference in my experience.

    Rachel Polcyn

  • “[Jessica] seems to have the answer about everything. [She] came to each session with more information than what the goal of the meeting was. Every time she left [I thought] “I learned so much today”.

    Angie Parkhouse

  • "I didn’t realize before meeting with Jessica that I didn’t include myself in my postpartum care plan. It’s easy to put the baby first, but I wasn’t on the list at all. I am so grateful for Matrescence OT. "

    Ryann Flanagan

  • “I’ve looked forward to having these [sessions with Gayle]. It’s been nice, kind of, coming to one spot and having I call it, ‘word salad’ just being able to throw it all out there…because a lot of times it gets all jumbled up in there and that adds to stress…[she puts] it into perspective and give[s] me that validation that I’m doing things right and I’m not alone”.

    Former Matrescence OT Client

  • Don't wait as long as I did to ask for help on this difficult journey! I was preparing for my 4th IVF egg retrieval and 1st embryo transfer when I started working with Jessica at Matrescence Occupational Therapy (OT). She addressed my social-emotional health needs at a time when I'd experienced a prolonged feeling of being disconnected from and frustration with my body, and she did so in a judgment-free, safe, compassionate space. Although my main focus was life balance and improving physical function, Jessica helped me regain my confidence, my life, myself, and my purpose! Her expertise in maternal health, knowledge of how various health conditions impact function, professionalism, passion to help me succeed, and ability to empathize while also setting attainable goals were unparalleled. Best time, effort, and money I have spent!

    Emilie Klingman

  • I found Matrescence through a mama FB group. I wasn't even looking for feeding support but when I read the post of what the poster was going through, I realized we were seeing the same challenges. I did the free consult with Jessica and in that time, my husband and I felt like she understood the situation, was a great listener, had really helpful tips, and didn't pressure/scare us into booking a full eval. We took a couple weeks to try her tips out and eventually decided we wanted more hands on support. Love that she comes to the house so you're in your natural habitat and she really tried to use things we already had to work with. She is such a great communicator. I cannot emphasize what a difference that makes. She's very tuned into the baby and was quick to share her observations. There were so many little cues that we've missed and it was great having her eyes on the situation. She is quick with her texts and provided a detailed write up right away because there was so much we probably already forgot after she left. Can't recommend her enough and feeling very hopeful for our feeding journey with our baby girl now!

    Taylor Catalon