Positive Labor + Exclusively Pumping | Valeria's Birth Story

Positive Labor + Exclusively Pumping | Valeria's Birth Story

Author: Emily Lau September 2, 2025 Duration: 1:07:18

On the 10th episode of The Labor Line, I’m joined by my friend Valeria, who had only ever held one baby before she had her own! From finding the right circle of friends that helped her feel confident enough to become a mom to utilizing all the tools offered to her from a local pregnancy help center, Valeria went from being a newborn novice to a birthing boss! 

In this episode: 

  • Positive labor with an epidural at 42 weeks 
  • Navigating the complex US healthcare & insurance system as a Peruvian immigrant 
  • Big baby and a subsequent 2nd degree tear 
  • Learning to stand up to negative nurses 
  • The emotional strain of exclusively pumping for 10 months


Valeria’s story is full of laughs and heart and is a great reminder that surrounding yourself with the right people can empower you to do things you never thought possible before. 


I also end the episode by sharing 10 things that I’ve learn from 10 episodes of The Labor Line, so be sure to stick around to the end!  


Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes


Chapters:

00:00 - Meet Valeria

08:06 - Pregnancy: Nausea, Birthing Classes, & Community Support

24:44 - Labor: Positive Delivery of a Big Baby With an Epidural at 42 Weeks 

27:40 - Postpartum: Cranky Nurses, Negotiating Medical Bills, & Exclusively Pumping

42:26 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

45:58 - 10 Lessons From 10 Episodes


Hosted by Emily Lau, The Labor Line offers a space where the profound, messy, and surprisingly funny realities of bringing a child into the world are shared without polish. Emily, who has long been fascinated by birth stories, began this podcast as an expectant mother seeking genuine conversations beyond the textbooks. Each episode is built from candid talks with her community of mom friends, where they unpack everything from the first signs of labor to the unpredictable weeks that follow. You’ll hear the full spectrum of experiences-the anxiety of unexpected complications, the raw emotion of feeding challenges, the triumph of a swift delivery, and those bizarre, laugh-out-loud moments that happen only in a hospital room. This isn't a how-to guide but a collection of human voices reminding you that you're not alone on this journey. By focusing on personal narratives, the podcast connects listeners to the cultural and relational shifts that define parenthood, all through the lens of honest storytelling. Tune in for weekly episodes that normalize the complexities of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum life, offering both solidarity and a much-needed dose of humor.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 32

The Labor Line
Podcast Episodes
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This week, I am joined by my friend Hannah, who went from not knowing how an epidural worked to delivering her third without her husband while he was at military training! Her experiences include (but aren’t limited to)…