Expert Midwifery & Women’s Health Care
At the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center, we are dedicated to empowering women and their families through the transformative experience of childbirth. Our certified nurse midwives (CNMs) specialize in providing compassionate, personalized care in a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment. Whether you’re seeking a natural midwife birth or exploring a birthing center near you, our team is here to guide and support you every step of the way.
Exceptional women’s and prenatal healthcare is built on a foundation of trust and collaboration. Our experienced CNMs embrace a holistic approach to care, integrating complementary therapies such as chiropractic care, acupuncture, and herbal or homeopathic remedies for those who prefer them. We also collaborate with physicians and allied health professionals as needed, which allows us to provide comprehensive, individualized care tailored to your unique needs.
Experience the difference at the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center, where we combine clinical excellence with empathetic care to help women embrace the beauty and empowerment of childbirth.
Cathy, the Midwife Director of the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center, has dedicated her career to providing exceptional midwifery care since helping open the birth center in 1997. With nearly a decade of labor and delivery nursing experience and advanced midwifery training from Frontier Nursing University, she has a wealth of expertise in caring for women through pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Inspired by her own empowering home birth experience, Cathy is passionate about ensuring every woman receives compassionate, personalized care during childbirth.
Kate Peck is a nurse-midwife and lactation counselor. Her experience includes assisting in home births and birth center deliveries at the Brooklyn Birthing Center. She earned her nursing degree and a master’s in nurse-midwifery from SUNY Downstate. Dedicated to improving postpartum care, Kate became a certified lactation counselor after the birth of her daughter and now provides compassionate, patient-centered care at the Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center, supporting women through pregnancy, postpartum, and well-woman gynecological care.
Jessica was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She attended nursing school at the University of Vermont, all the while maintaining a specific interest in midwifery and its philosophy of care. While in nursing school she apprenticed with a home birth team, weaving the lessons she learned into her nursing care. After receiving her BSN, Jessica attended midwifery school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, where she gained experience providing midwifery care in rural settings, a busy freestanding birth center, and a major academic medical center.
Jennifer is passionate about caring for women throughout all stages of life. In her care, she emphasizes a holistic approach to wellness, evidence-based prevention and intervention, and education. She has a special interest in nutrition and exercise in pregnancy and has taught prenatal and postpartum fitness classes. She enjoys an active, outdoor lifestyle with her husband and children. An Army spouse for more than 9 years, she understands the importance of resiliency, flexibility, and communication. Jennifer holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of West Florida, an M.S. in Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Nurse-Midwifery from Baylor University.
Kimberly first stepped into birth work while learning alongside midwives in Burkina Faso and then with a midwifery internship in Sri Lanka. After returning to the United States, she continued the journey of becoming a midwife and sought out experience in labor and birth, working as a nurse in her home state of California. Having recently moved to the area, she is proud to join the only freestanding birth center in Connecticut and looks forward to creating space for clients to feel heard and cared for. Kimberly can often be found in nature and traveling to visit friends and family all over the world.
Carlese holds a lifelong passion for reproductive health care and birth work. Her journey into midwifery began at a young age when she became captivated by the transformative power of birth. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Bay Path University in Massachusetts, studying biology and psychology. Attending midwifery school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee she gained robust training in diverse clinical settings including large academic medical centers and community-based practices.
Kayla Britz, DNP, CNM
Staff Midwife
Kayla Britz pursued midwifery after years of supporting individuals and families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum as a full-spectrum doula and home birth assistant. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Psychology, where her studies in reproductive justice inspired her pursuit and commitment to birth work. She later earned her Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice in Midwifery from Columbia University. Kayla believes that we are the real experts on our bodies and that with knowledge and the practice of listening to our bodies, we each have the power to heal.
Bree Grealis MSN, CNM, IBCLC
Staff Midwife
Bree Grealis is thrilled to provide care at CT Childbirth and Women’s Center. Her return to birth center work feels like coming home—she worked as a student midwife and a nurse in a freestanding birth center in Tucson, AZ, where she facilitated Centering Pregnancy classes, received her own prenatal care, and welcomed her first child 19 years ago. Bree is also a board-certified Lactation Consultant with an MSN from Frontier Nursing University. Over more than two decades, she has served as a nurse educator, labor nurse, and nurse-midwife, beginning with over two years in the Peace Corps in Nepal and continuing with labor and delivery nurse roles in Colorado and Arizona, nurse-midwife roles in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Connecticut. She has a special interest in trauma-sensitive care and using movement to support and enhance the labor process. She loves to travel with her husband and two daughters, one in high school and one in college.
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