Dr Hannah Slootjes is an occupational therapist and academic whose work explores how occupational therapy can support women’s health, wellbeing, and participation through perinatal transitions, motherhood, and matrescence - the lifelong, bio-psycho-social-spiritual-political process of navigating motherhood. She completed her PhD in 2022 at La Trobe University, where her thesis, The Role of Occupational Therapists in Perinatal Health, investigated global occupational therapy practice in maternal health and introduced conceptual frameworks for mother-centred and co-occupational care. 

Hannah’s research and writing focus on gender-responsive, occupation-centred practice that honours the complex, contextual needs of women and families across the lifespan. She practices as a senior occupational therapist supporting girls and women across the lifespan, teaches occupational therapy students, contributes to evidence-based practice development, and is the author/editor of a contemporary textbook on occupational therapy’s role in matrescence, motherhood, and perinatal health published with Routledge in 2025. 

Through her work as a ‘pracademic’ (scholar-practitioner), educator, and collaborator, Hannah advocates for holistic, socially responsive OT practice grounded in occupational justice and inclusive support across reproductive and parental roles. Her contributions span research, professional development, supervision, and practice-based translation of evidence to support occupational therapists working in emerging areas of women’s health. 

Research blog and website: www.drhannahslootjes.com

PhD thesis: Slootjes, H. (2022). The Role of Occupational Therapists in Perinatal Health [Doctoral thesis, La Trobe University]. Open Access at La Trobe (OPAL). https://doi.org/10.26181/19836172.v1.

Textbook: Slootjes, H. (Ed.). (2025). Enhancing Women’s Wellbeing During Matrescence, Motherhood and Perinatal Transitions: An Evidence-based Guide for Occupational Therapists. Taylor & Francis/Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003397724

La Trobe University research profile: https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/hslootjes

Private practice: www.berdyoccupationaltherapy.com.au