MINNEAPOLIS — Andrea Engdahl remembers the first time she said the words, 25 years ago.

“I want to be a midwife.”

She was pregnant with her first child at the time and exploring her health care options. A nurse midwife, she discovered, was a registered nurse who delivers babies and cares for women from puberty through menopause.

Eighteen years later — after leaving her early childhood family education job, raising her kids and eventually earning a nursing degree to work as an RN, including in obstetrics — Engdahl graduated from midwifery school.

Now 49, Engdahl sees patients at M Health Fairview Clinic-Riverside and delivers babies at Masonic Children’s Hospital.

In an interview edited for clarity and length, Engdahl shares what it’s like to be in her shoes.

What does a nurse midwife

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