Midwives at the Connecticut Childbirth Center

Meet Our Midwives

Cathy Parisi MSN, CNM became interested in midwifery after the midwife-assisted birth of her first child. She was struck by the time, care and attention she received. She felt she wanted to help other women have as wonderful an experience as she and her family had experienced. By the time of her third birth, she had completed her training as a registered nurse at Western Connecticut State University and became a certified Bradley childbirth educator. Cathy is the midwife director of the birthing center.

Cathy gained experience caring for both high and low risk pregnant women while she worked as a labor and delivery nurse for 8 years. She received her midwifery education at the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing and joined a large midwifery practice based at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Although the group was hospital based, the position provided a wealth of experience in the care of birthing mothers. Cathy received her Masters of Science in Nursing from the State University of New York at Stonybrook in 1997.

Cathy is delighted to be back working in Danbury, caring for women and their families at the Connecticut Childbirth & Women's Center, the only freestanding birth center in Connecticut. Cathy is a lifelong Connecticut resident. She resides in Bethel with her husband Pete and their grown children Peter, Betsy, and Stacy. Cathy is the midwife director of the center.

Katy Maker was raised with books about birth on her toy shelf. Always fascinated by birth, she was pre-med at Grinnel College when she had her first child. During that pregnancy, a friend gave her the classic book "Spiritual Midwifery," which eventually had a significant effect on her birth experience. She found birth so amazing and empowering that she wanted other women to experience it with their own families in the same way. As a result, she pursued a career in nursing and finally graduated with her Masters in Midwifery in 1992.

Katy has worked as a nurse in a neonatal ICU and in a hospital delivery suite before her first formal position as a midwife in Michigan. She remained there for two years and then pursued private practice in Iowa for nearly nine years. During that time she practiced a great deal of general gynecology as well as maternity care in both the hospital and home setting. Iowa is known for corn, but there were also many Amish and Mennonite families that routinely gave birth at home.

With a family of her own, she is happy to be at the Connecticut Childbirth & Women's Center. She loves attending births at both the birthing center and the hospital. Her home here in Danbury is peaceful despite her two active children Camille and Tristen and her husband Matthew, who is now pursuing a degree in pharmacy. All the members of Katy's family are used to birth stories, and sometimes even listen.

Candace Mooney MSN, CNM discovered midwifery during nursing school. After she attended her first birth she knew that being present at births was her “calling.” One of her nursing instructors encouraged Candace to explore nurse-midwifery and she quickly discovered that midwifery was the career for her.

Candace worked in cardiac nursing in the first few years of her nursing career. After gaining valuable experience in critical care nursing, she transferred to the maternity service. She worked with high risk as well as low risk obstetrical patients. During that time she pursued her midwifery training at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She completed her bachelors and masters degrees by 2001.

Initially after graduation, Candace remained in Michigan, working in a hospital-based midwifery practice for two years. However, her passion for independent midwifery care brought her to the Connecticut Childbirth and Women’s Center in 2005. She is adjusting well to her new life here in Connecticut. Candace enjoys reading, hiking, golfing and her pet dog, Klyde, and cat, Tigger.

Meet Our Midwives

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