Midwife Christy D'Aquila, CPM, CNM

Hi Y'all!

two young boys and their dog
I am originally from the deep south, from Mississippi, where humidity, pine straw, y’all, and sweet tea are a part of life. I joyfully embrace those aspects of home. Christian-based authoritative parenting, corporal punishment, and deep-rooted, active racism are also a part of my southern story whose effects I actively strive to dismantle on a daily basis. Journeying through puberty and then becoming a parent were transition times when I reckoned with values to keep and reject as a person and a parent. Transitions in life are like this, initiatory rites of passage which thrust us into reckoning with values and core beliefs, and into new roles if we choose to answer the Call. The journey is an opportunity to leave behind old rules and strategies, an opportunity to uncover, discover, and grow into new roles and ways of being with a focus on intentional thriving in connection with ourselves, our kids, and each other.

​After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, my family moved to Connecticut. I currently live in Simsbury with my husband and 1-3 kids depending on what month it is! Besides my commitment to safeguarding physiologic birth and body-mind-spirit integrity in birth, I enjoy herb and flower gardening, crochet, process art, and walks with our dog, Max.

In my middle years, I keep on journeying. And I’m happy to share the next part of it with you! 

​Personal growth and deeper knowing

​My interest in human development and individual psychology blends with my midwifery practice. I recognize birth and sexual and reproductive health as deeply personal experiences influenced by past and present life events. I celebrate joyful moments. And I am committed to courageously diving into the shadows of one’s life with compassionate curiosity, knowing that shining a light on these areas offers opportunities for reflection and healing. The safety of the midwife-client relationship and giving birth offer space for exploration if you are up to the task. Life transitions (rites of passage) such as puberty, childbirth, parenting and elder-care, perimenopause, and menopause offer ripe opportunities for personal and community growth. In visits with you, I earnestly listen to your story and the meaning you give to your experiences. 
Home Birth Midwifery
My initial call to midwifery came from Robbie Davis-Floyd’s perspective in her book Birth as an American Rite of Passage. Now, I am thrilled to share my passion for the integrity of birth unfolding in its own time and space as a midwife. I walk beside you during the childbearing year, following your lead, aiding a safe passage for you and your baby. Parenting is hard work, and you deserve wholistic support from the start.

There is no one type of person who desires midwifery services and home birth. I look forward to working with you as part of the diverse group of people who make up the homebirth community in the Greater Hartford area, Hartford, Litchfield, upper Fairfield, New Haven, and Middlesex Counties, and throughout Connecticut! I have offices in Tariffvile and Terryville, CT.
​View Christy's Curriculum Vitae

First, Do No Harm

The childbearing year is a time of growth and transition. Old roles are cast aside as you grow into the new roles which await you. Transformation is hard, rewarding work. I recognize the critical need to reclaim the spirituality of birth centered in the family and community.  And I rejoice with each baby born in the context of supportive midwifery care in the community or in an alternate setting when needed -- welcoming the re-learning of childbirth as a non-medical event.

​I also recognize no single, right way of coping, laboring, and birthing. 
A single vision of good laboring and childbirth is a falsehood that contributes to a self-blame culture and disappointment.
I ‘do harm’ when birthers embody the idea that they did not achieve their dream birth because they did not follow a specific childbirth method or failed to do something just right.
Good births sometimes include unwished for events that become the next best option.​
Birthing is a rite of passage.
And as such, it requires your presence, and self-love, including persevering through challenges.

I am eager to join together as you walk this birthing journey!

Education and Training

My varied experience with midwifery, home, and hospital birth serve you well as you prepare for your home birth and well-care with a midwife.

I gained experience through a blend of self-learning, apprenticeship, and academic nurse-midwifery and MEAC programs.
  • support of physiologic childbirth
  • catching babies at home and hospital
  • offering labor support and comfort measures
  • prenatal and postpartum care
  • assisting pregnant people to remain healthy and candidates for home births
  • managing complications of labor and birth
  • newborn assessments and care to 28 days
  • thorough physical assessments and yearly well-person exams
  • consulting evidence and intuition to guide treatment and care
  • pharmacology
  • non-intervention in childbirth and using medical support as needed
  • use of herbs in the childbearing year
  • unhurried prenatal and postpartum appointments following the client's lead
  • support of families during loss
  • trauma aware care 
  • respect for the pregnant person as the expert and primary caregiver for their baby

As a registered nurse, I became an expert at 
  • gently entering the intimate space of people I newly met
  • critically thinking and acting in times of emergency
  • advocating for evidence-informed care
  • proficiency with nursing skills 
  • team management of labor and birth complications
  • labor support to encourage optimal fetal positioning and safe space
  • Fetal heart rate monitoring: intermittent and continuous, and response to patterns

I am committed to further improving care for homebirth families by promoting the extension of our cultural awareness practices to those who choose home birth and midwifery care. Homebirth safety is improved by healthcare providers (nurses, physicians, midwives) respecting homebirth as part of social culture. We are ethically bound to extend our cultural awareness practices to homebirthing families and the midwives who support them when we encounter them in our offices, clinics, and in the hospital.  The U.S. healthcare systems may be stregthened by: open collaboration, consultation, and referral with the medical community including ob/gyn care, paramedics, and EMTs; easy access to emergency services when needed; ensuring access to the Midwives Model of Care as a standard for best practice at home, hospital, and birth centers; and easy access for those with low-risk pregnancies (most birthing people) to homebirth and midwifery-owned freestanding birth centers.