Latest / The Cyclical Doula Podcast: Fertility Awareness, Charting Cycles, and Reproductive Health Education / Healing Through Alignment: Dr. Taylor on Chiropractic Care, Nervous System Regulation & Pregnancy
Transcript
- Dr. Taylor Dempsey: on the nerves that are trying to communicate to your muscle cells, tissues, and organs. So whether those nerves are coming directly from your brain or from your spinal cord going out to those areas, that is some sort of sign that there is a miscommunication. The message isn't getting there fully or at all, and we often don't listen to our body until it screams. But your body has been whispering for years and years and years and years, and we're taking everything as Emmamma: Welcome to the Cyclical Doula podcast. I'm Emma, a certified fertility awareness educator, miscarriage doula and the founder of Emmamma LLC. This space is for women who want to understand their bodies deeply, not just memorize information, but actually feel confident in interpreting their cycles. Here we talk about ovulation, hormones, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, and all that's messy in between emotional layers that come with being a woman. We talk about trying to conceive, avoiding pregnancy without hormones. postpartum transitions, pregnancy loss, perimenopause, and everything in between. Because body literacy isn't just about charting. It's about the autonomy. It's about informed consent. It's about not outsourcing your reproductive decisions to guesswork or fear. Each week, you'll hear conversations with women's health professionals, ⁓ birth workers, ⁓ educators, and researchers along with solo episodes where I teach practical skills you can apply to your own cycle right away. if you have ever felt like you should have learned this information sooner, if you have ever felt disconnected from your cycle, If you want to raise the next generation without shame around their bodies, you are in the right place. So grab your tea, open up your notes app, and let's build a cycle confidence together. emmamma: Welcome back to the Cyclical Doula podcast. Today I am here with Dr. Taylor, who's a chiropractor and advocate for women's health. She specializes in gentle techniques that offer so much beyond pain relief. And through her work, she brings understanding to fertility, pregnancy, and the journeys that just women and humans navigate. So I'm super excited to just have this conversation with you today. And Can you just share a little bit more about yourself? Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Good morning. I'm Dr. Taylor Dempsey. My husband and I own Luminary Chiropractic in Hanahan, South Carolina, so right outside of Charleston. We take care of a lot of families. Every member of the family from really little babies up to my 99 year old grandfather gets adjusted with the same technique. And we are all about being an advocate for people and empowering them in health information and health literacy so that they can make informed choices for themselves and their family and be their cheerleaders in every aspect of their health journey. emmamma: I love that so much. I mean, I found chiropractic care on my own because of pain and stuff, but I am a huge advocate for just chiropractic care for everybody and anybody. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: It is. emmamma: So yeah, I'm super excited to chat more with you. How do you get into being a chiropractor in general? Why did you choose this field? Dr. Taylor Dempsey: So I have been adjusted since I was three years old. I grew up in chiropractic. My parents noticed that I was walking pigeon-toed when I first started walking and they had wanted to try chiropractic before we tried any braces or therapies. And there was a chiropractic office like 30 seconds from my house. So I grew up getting adjusted at least once a week. And I don't think I really understood what chiropractic was all about until a little bit later in my life. But the chiropractic I grew up with, always advocated for, know, when you're sick, get adjusted. If you're feeling sad, get adjusted. If you are feeling sore from sports, get adjusted. She, every single time we complained about anything, she was like, that's a really good opportunity for an adjustment. And to be totally honest, I looked at her life and she worked three days a week. She wore Birkenstocks and she went on runs in her lunch break. And before I really understood chiropractic, I was like, this is the kind of life that I she seems really happy. emmamma: I'd love that. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: And then I started using it as more of a tool in my athletic career to help myself recover. So I was constantly getting adjusted a lot more often during those times. And then when I really started learning about how it can help your entire autonomic nervous system and not just, you know, for pain and for discomfort, I really, really fell in love with it. So I kind of had this like up and down journey of wanting to be a chiropractor where I really circled back around in, I guess, in undergrad. of how to help people because during my senior year of college I was doing some research on birth outcomes for women that were exercising throughout their whole pregnancy and then I saw some literature on chiropractic and exercising and these birth outcomes and I was like my gosh I forgot that I wanted to be a chiropractor and of course it's so much more than that like what you think chiropractic emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: is is just the small part of the iceberg above the water emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: and then you really get into the nitty-gritty of it and it is so different. emmamma: Yeah, that's so good. I know what chiropractic care is, because I get adjusted regularly. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: But if someone's listening and they have no idea or they assume it's all the pop, cracky stuff, how Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yeah. emmamma: do you best describe that? Dr. Taylor Dempsey: So first of all, there's dozens of different chiropractic techniques. Any chiropractor has learned dozens of them at some point in their career, and then we all take extra seminars outside of that to learn the technique that makes sense to us. when it comes to what people assume chiropractic is for, people will say, well, I'm not in pain or I don't get headaches or I don't have tension. So why would I need chiropractic? Well, we all have a nervous system. At least I hope we all do. If you are breathing and upright and your eyes are open, then you have a nervous system and a spine. And so you definitely need chiropractic. We all encounter stress. Chiropractic, when it was developed at its core, was about helping the body function optimally. And there was nothing about pain. until we just got lumped into this back pain fix in the mid emmamma: Bye! Dr. Taylor Dempsey: 1900s. So if I were to explain chiropractic to somebody that had no idea what we were doing, especially with our technique, it's extremely gentle, it's very specific, it's safe for any member of the family because we don't do any twisting, cracking, or popping, and it's extremely research-based, which is what we're super passionate about in our practice, is making sure there's a lot of evidence to support what we're doing. Our technique is great for people that have bad experiences or maybe are afraid of chiropractic or they have vulnerabilities in their system, whether it's their spine or their nervous system, that make them a little bit more sensitive to other techniques. So it's a great landing spot for a lot of people. But we actually found the technique that we do because six years ago my husband and I were hiking and we were in chiropractic school and I had a really big fall so I fell 20 feet onto rocks while we were hiking. emmamma: my goodness. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: And my body went into shock, so I couldn't get adjusted how we were learning in school, nothing with a lot of pressure or a lot of speed to it because I was so inflamed. And one of our friends told us about a technique we'd really never heard of in school quite yet. And I went over and got adjusted at her house and actually was able to walk and relax for the first time in three weeks. So that's kind how we emmamma: Wow. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: landed ourselves here. And it meshes really well with what we do during pregnancy. because we take x-rays in our practice and during pregnancy, obviously, we can't take an x-ray of you. So the analysis and the technique that we do is gentle enough and specific enough to be able to still adjust during pregnancy even if we don't have an x-ray and you've got a history of something. emmamma: Yeah, and that is that the that's the Webster technique, right? Yeah, awesome. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. Yeah. emmamma: So you mentioned that it's safe during pregnancy and for like anybody and everybody. What makes it so special besides just like that more gentle touch that it is a good option in pregnancy? Is there more to it? Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: with Webster. So Webster by definition is a specific analysis and adjustment to reduce nervous system stress, balances the pelvic bones, muscles, ligaments, and optimizes the mom's pelvic function in pregnancy and birth. So what does that really mean? It's after our normal adjustment. So we do our torque release technique adjustment on moms and then once we've gone through there and their body has signaled to us like I've had enough of this torque release technique adjustment or just what we're seeing in our analysis, we move into Webster. So we check sacral rotation. So sacrum is the big bone in between your hips at the base of your spine and we feel for resistance on either side of their leg which would indicate that their sacrum has has moved in a specific way on one side versus the other. So that analysis is going to tell us about the pelvic positioning overall. Because if one bone is out in a specific way, then there's a lot of other cues we can look at of rotation of certain vertebrae or positioning of muscles or tension of muscles that will tell us a lot more about the pelvis. So. After we've done our Torquilis technique, we move into this. So we do their sacrum, their sacro-tubarous ligament, a piriformis sweep, and I'll go into this. We check their pubic bone on the front. We check their psoas muscle and then their round ligaments. And this builds up Webster. So for example, when the sacrum, which is that big bone at the base of our spine, before we get to our tailbone, a sacral subluxation or misalignment can cause the uterus sacral ligament to be torqued onto the uterus. It can create uterine tension, imbalance, a lot of restriction within that uterine wall, which will be really uncomfortable and of course restrict the baby from moving as well as they want to. you And then another example is if there's tension on one side of the round ligaments versus the other, because there's those two round ligaments that come off of the uterus, it will increase total tension to the uterus and make it more off-center, which will really affect the position of baby. So Jeannie Ohm, or at least one of the ICPA people, always talks about how a physiological normal pelvis will allow baby to find physiological normal which is of course head down in this optimal position before birth. So when we adjust the sacrum, whether we're using our adjusting tool, which is called the integrator, or we use the drop, which is a really gentle way to get the pelvic bones to move without using excessive force. We first adjust the sacrum with the drop technique, and then we move into the sacretubarous ligament, helping that to relax, helping the sacrum to move a little bit more. We always do post checks to really follow up on what we're doing. And then when we do a piriformis sweep, this is really just getting those muscle fibers in their glutes, that piriformis muscle, to relax. Everybody loves how that feels, and we often teach dads how to do this at home too. And then after we've done that, we flip mom over onto her back. We check her pubic bone. A lot of times women will complain before they start getting adjusted of the lightning crotch, that zinging in their legs. And a lot of times emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: that's coming from the separation of their pubic bones, which sounds very, very uncomfortable. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: So let me adjust their pubic bones. We check their psoas muscle. So the psoas goes from your spine underneath your belly down into your legs. It's a really deep hip flexor and one that's really tight, especially if it's tight on one side, it will hold the belly up on one side or both and not allow baby to get full range of motion in there. And if we took pictures before and after adjustments, oftentimes we see that belly has relaxed or even expanded up and down or just allow baby to be more full. rather than holding in in this really uncomfortable type position. So belly changes quite a bit. So then we release the psoas muscle and then we move into the round ligaments. And this is something that I teach dads or both my husband and I teach dads how to do at home is to help release the round ligaments of their wife or their female partner. And they put pressure on the round ligaments. And this is one of the favorite parts for a lot of women during their Webster adjustment because because it just allows them to take a big exhale. And you often feel baby moving emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: a lot while we're doing this. And it is a really intimate part of what we do every day. I mean, what we do with our people that are not pregnant is our torque release technique adjustment that we analyze their pelvis and maybe use a drop with them. But when it comes to pregnancy, I always warn people at the beginning, I'm like, we are going to be up close and personal. This is pretty intimate. But of course, if you're pregnant, you've had these really intimate appointments already with your OB emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: or your midwife, so they're very used to it. We get some extra time with them throughout these adjustments. emmamma: Yeah, that's great. think that was literally one of my favorite parts of being adjusted in pregnancy was just like Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: the fact that it just felt so much more relaxing. And the place that I had gone to, this was in Vermont when we lived there, and they also had like a physical therapist who had like massage techniques. So there was like, it was like a whole hour experience, which is not typical for most Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yeah. emmamma: chiropractic adjustments, but it was like such a... such an experience of like really being able to sit in my body well and like be best prepared. And I think that's something that if people aren't used to chiropractic care, like that can be such an amazing part of that pregnancy of being able to really like get your body to relax and be in the best state and really help in all of those things. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Absolutely, and it's about more than just pain and discomfort. I think that's a huge misconception emmamma: Totally. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: for people, especially during pregnancy. I had a friend recently that is pregnant and she said, well, I'm not uncomfortable. And I was like, well, that's not the point. emmamma: That's great Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yeah, I'm like, I'm so happy for you. emmamma: and also, yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: I mean, it is associated with less discomfort. It's associated with less suboptimal positions of babies, less long, painful labors. It also helps to improve your sleep, your energy, keep your energy pretty consistent, help with your mental health, with breathing, with digestion. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: It's all of these things that make up how your nervous system functions. I mean, the bonus is really like that you're not uncomfortable, but it's all these other things too. emmamma: Yeah, what about the nervous system do you wanna like share in regards to how that works with adjusting and body work that Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yeah. emmamma: you're doing? Dr. Taylor Dempsey: In relation to bodywork, of course, I mean, there's so many different techniques for nervous system regulation and really fine tuning your nervous system. We spend a significant amount of time with our practice members before we ever adjust them to help them understand. how their nervous system works, how it's working for you, and in relation to why you landed yourself in our practice. So a lot of people don't have the understanding of how the nervous system works. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: But pain and discomfort and symptoms in general are signals from our nervous system that there is some sort of pressure. on the nerves that are trying to communicate to your muscle cells, tissues, and organs. So whether those nerves are coming directly from your brain or from your spinal cord going out to those areas, that is some sort of sign that there is a miscommunication. The message isn't getting there fully or at all, and we often don't listen to our body until it screams. But your body has been whispering for years and years and years and years, and we're taking everything as normal. Whether you have asthma or you don't sleep very well or you get bloated. These are all signals that your body is under distress and we're just like, well, we just get bloated because I ate out. And then after a while it just compounds and your body says, well, I've got to give you this red alert. So when emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: we spend time with people before we ever adjust them, in our consultation, we talk about stress and not just mental stress, right? We talk about chemical stress, physical stress, emotional stress, traumas, the original trauma of your life, which is your own birth experience. We talk about innate intelligence and the intelligence of your body and how it wants to heal. We talk about anatomy. We talk about how much time it might take for your body to make major changes and the responsibility of people outside of what we're doing. What we're doing is amazing, but you have to take radical responsibility for your own health. We talk about the autonomic nervous system and how other symptoms might arise. Like, yes, their headaches might be their main focus right now, but I'm also concerned with how their body's functioning. How's your energy? How's your sleep? Are you feeling depressed? What does that look like for you? We also share this model that we're trying to help everyone adopt, which is preventative and proactive versus reactive healthcare. And really working emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: through those paradigm shifts before we ever adjust them. And then there's a huge amount of information that we give to our practice members verbally, visually, and then also for them to take home to really study for themselves, to help them make informed health decisions. A lot of people are putting their trust in other people that might not explain everything to them. And when you're making health decisions for yourself and for your family, you really want to be able to make that informed, confident decision. We're also really big on bodywork being an umbrella. I myself, I get adjusted, you know, one or two times a week typically. I get massages. I've done acupuncture. I'm a huge fan of pelvic floor physical therapy for myself. I've done PT. I see a therapist myself. So it's more than just one thing, especially during emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: pregnancy. There's so many different players there. emmamma: Yeah, I think that's so huge. And I think that that's such a good conversation to be having, especially around something that like chiropractic care that people are assuming that it's for pain when it really is like this preventative, like, again, like getting to that best state of your of your body's being in all of those ways. And I know that you and I have talked about this before of like your practice, your like, having people come in regularly, like people have like a schedule that they're coming in versus like just randomly. Is there anything that like you want to share about that just so that people know like how that, how people kind of come into your practice, it's not just like a one and done situation, it's really getting to know them and supporting them through their whole experience. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Absolutely. What I grew up with was come when you need to, walk in based. And of course I used that to its full extent, but not everyone does. We get a lot of people that are like, well, my old chiropractor just told me to come like once a month and... What I know through research is that your body cannot go 30 days without some sort of subluxation, which is major stress to the nervous system via pressure on the nerves from a bone being out of place. So if you think about that, it's like in a perfect world if somebody is not stressed. We all deal with an immense amount of stress on a day-to-day basis. Your nervous system is being assaulted by technology, by sitting, by sleeping in a weird position, by... driving in your car, and then not to name all the other things that we do on a daily basis. emmamma: You're right. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: So of course it's about getting you from... point A to point B. You you come into our practice, you've got all of these complaints and your quality of life is here right now. So we want to see people frequently at the beginning. We typically start people off anywhere from two to three times a week to really work through what they're doing and build their threshold for what their body can adapt to. And then as their body starts to adapt, we decrease their frequency so that their body has the ability to heal more on its own now that we've managed a of symptoms for their body to manage their own symptoms and work through that stress. It's definitely not a one-and-done thing. What brings people to a chiropractor or any sort of body worker has been happening for years and years and years unless you had this accident that happened yesterday that you know that's why suddenly you're in pain. emmamma: Okay. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: It takes sometimes 10 years for pain to show up, but it's been underneath the surface. So if we expect anybody, whether it's PT, chiropractic, massage, whatever it is, to take symptoms away in one visit, you're crazy. Because how could we expect 10 to 20 to 30 years of battery to our body to change in one visit? So it really sets people up for failure when they're like, I didn't feel better overnight. Amazing. I'll see you next, I'll see you tomorrow because we have a lot of work emmamma: Yeah, right. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: to do. And it's more than just, you I've accomplished this goal. I'm done now. Like you go to the gym to emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: accomplish a goal and then we accomplish the next goal and the next goal. Same thing with your health. My grandpa is 99. He gets adjusted every Thursday. His initial goal was he had back pain. Now it's he wants to feel better energy because he doesn't have any pain. So we're just adapting to these new goals. My husband's emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: been adjusted since he was one day old. He doesn't have the same goals then. And it's all about being proactive and preventative so that we can age in a healthy way with both our mind and body. emmamma: That's so cool. Because you just mentioned, and it was a question that I had before, have you, so your husband, you just said, was it been adjusted since he was a day old? Do you see, obviously, like there's always life that's happening, so there's always something that people can Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: be getting their body worked on. But do you see when you're seeing kids, like from infancy that they have less, like stressors on their body that otherwise like we as adults if we're going into it would. I don't know if I'm asking that question right but. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Sure, 100%. So we offer to our moms that have given birth with us, or they've, you know, been pregnant, been taken care of throughout their pregnancy with us, we do a home visit if they want to. After birth, and we often check baby too, there are several babies in our practice that I can think of right now that we have adjusted them since there was one that I adjusted when he was four hours old. I had flown in on a red eye. Mom texted me and was like, hey, I just had my baby. And I was like, I will come over from the airport right now. I will be there. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: And these kids, they don't have the same complaints as kids that maybe were emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: catching them at three, four, five, six, seven years old. You know, they don't have as many immune system complaints. They hit all their milestones and absolutely rocked it. They integrated their little reflexes. They didn't have issues with sleeping or with latching. You know, we really got ahead of the things that they normally people normally bring their kids in for when they're like I'm at my witch's end it's been weeks of this like we got ahead of it because we saw the signs early emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: and there's several kids in our practice that have been adjusted now for two and a half years with us and they really just don't if I'm looking at kids that come in at that time versus kids that emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: have been with us for so long they don't have the same issues going on it's really incredible emmamma: Yeah, yeah, that's so cool. So you also mentioned earlier about like birth being a trauma in the sense of like physical stuff on your body Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: for an infant. And I like, I remember my daughter's birth, it was like very fast. And I remember going to the chiropractor after, like it was a couple months after, because we were like, we need to find some other solutions for what was going on for her. And I remember them being like, yeah, cause like they asked me all these questions about how the birth went and it was a natural birth and like it was fast. so like, I was like, like nothing could have been like quote wrong and nothing was wrong, but she was birthed so fast that they were like, yes, that's probably why her neck is so tight and Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: things like that. And I think that that's sometimes helpful, especially as like a new parent when you're trying to do all of these other things that sometimes like just your baby can be more comfortable when they. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yeah. emmamma: have gotten adjusted and gotten some of this body work done and things like that. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Absolutely, and I think what sets us up or sets parents up for failure in this is one, as a mom, you're noticing small things in your, you're with your emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: baby 24 seven, your pediatrician is like, are they gaining weight? Did they have a fractured collarbone? Do they have hip dysplasia? No, emmamma: You're right. You're right. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: then we're probably pretty good. They're looking for like big, huge. scary things that happened and what we're looking emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: for are really really really small things, small signs. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: You know, being birthed really fast is overwhelming for a baby to go from this perfect environment shooting out into the world. emmamma: Yeah, right. Right. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Even a c-section, I mean they didn't go through the emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: birth canal so then their head didn't contract and then expand. being born no matter what. mean, even if you had this serene water birth where nobody pulled your baby out of you or you had an emmamma: Totally. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: emergency C-section, there is tension to those first bones in the neck. And that is enough to cause colic, fussiness, where they don't want to nurse on one breast versus the other. Just so much tension in their little face and their mouth. So I think it really sets people up for failure where they're like, my baby's gaining weight and like they're fine. Fine to me is not a good enough reason to not do anything. emmamma: Yeah, totally. Yeah, that's so, I think that's such an important, I think it's a helpful reminder for like us all as human beings of like, just because we're fine doesn't mean that everything's like as the best that it can be. Yeah, usually not great. Is usually what it means for sure. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: And what does fine mean? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Emmamma: hey, I'm just popping in real quick to say Make sure you're subscribed to the Cyclical Doula podcast on whichever platform you're listening to. ⁓ And don't miss upcoming conversations. If this episode is resonating with you, please share it with a friend, rate it and write a review. This is how this movement grows, not through algorithms, but through women talking to women. All right, let's jump back into it. emmamma: Yeah, why? Because my work's all around body literacy and cycles, menstrual cycles and all that stuff. Is there anything that comes to mind with that when you're in your field of... Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Definitely. emmamma: that relates, yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: So in chiropractic school, we learn so many different things that everyone kind of takes their own rabbit hole of what they want to get into. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: I love, and my husband loves to do this in a different way, we both love to like blow people's minds with information. We'll tell them something and they're like, no, my gosh, you're kidding. I never emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: knew that. So I really love to talk about, you know, women's cycles, you know, their... eggs maturing versus just their menstrual cycle. We talk a lot about it because most people go into pregnancy even not even knowing what ovulation is or what different signs of distress in your cycle are. So we talk a lot about body literacy in that way of what your monthly cycle means. how much, how long it might take after you get off birth control to actually have a healthy pregnancy, that dad's health is really, really, really important to preconception health, where we put so much pressure on women. We share some stats with people too, and they're like, no, my gosh, they really say that. And then we also talk about whole birth experience, a lot of women will be like no my provider's been so supportive of me having a natural birth and I'm like what does a natural birth mean to your provider? when you get to 36, 37 weeks, they're going to start the conversation about your baby is big and we might need to emmamma: Huh. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: induce. And they're like, no, my provider has never said that before. And then they come back after that, whatever it is, 36, 37 week appointment. And they're like, my provider wants to induce. I'm like, what is the evidence? So we have these conversations a lot and I'll send people home with links of just information about statistics. We also talk about, you know, how high the C-section rate is in our country. I think it's what, 32 emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: %? because there's a lack of informed choice, there's fear being used, and a lack of support and social engagement that people emmamma: You Dr. Taylor Dempsey: don't want to educate themselves. So that is a huge part of body literacy for us, where I joke a lot. like, you know, if this doesn't feel right to you, they're not going to come to your house and pick you up for your induction. And I make jokes about it because I'm like, know what, you have to make informed choice. I cannot make this choice for you. I'm not your obstetrician. And emmamma: Right? Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: it has to be a collaborative effort between you and your birth provider. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: But they might not be giving you all of the information that you need. emmamma: Yeah, I think that's such an important conversation to have with everybody. If it's truly medically necessary, you will know. You will be Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yes. emmamma: wheeled into the emergency room. It will be very obvious. And Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. emmamma: I think that's something that we forget of when something is truly a medical emergency, it becomes obvious. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: there is emergency medicine for a reason and like that's great and Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Absolutely. emmamma: I am all for like that being there and sometimes the convenience of Western medicine can get in the way of the way that things can happen naturally and really just like let people be in control and let people be have informed consent around all the choices that they're making and that's so important. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: 100 % and I am huge on like I'm not anti-medical at all. think there's such a time and a place like you said for Western medicine and for emergency care that is so essential but I think of course yeah, but we have made it such a procedure and generalized birth. When birth is emmamma: Yeah. Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: this innate primal experience for women, and we don't want to generalize it. I mean, normal emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: gestation is what, 37 to 42 weeks, 38 to 42 weeks, and of course when we get to that 40 week point everyone's like, oh my god I'm not having contractions yet. That's emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: okay. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: And I think sometimes we've set people up for failure with expecting that and then they really get stressed out. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: And I can change the entire experience. And like you said, you will know when it's an emergency. Like there will be signs versus the experience on the other end of that where it's more convenient. emmamma: Yeah, yeah. And then also I'm like all for advocating for like, if we as individuals like have that like gut feeling of something feels wrong, like to just keep trying to find the people who will listen to find that root Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Absolutely. emmamma: cause and all of those things. But as we were talking, it came to mind of one of my experiences. So with my daughter, she's my second and I had been getting adjusted throughout all of pregnancy. And it was towards springtime, so I have really bad seasonal arteries and I was quite pregnant. I was probably like 36, 37 weeks at the time. And I went to sneeze, was trying not to pee because pelvic floor was not the best. And so I held my breath weird as I was sneezing and I popped one of my ribs out, which was Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Ugh. emmamma: one of the most painful experiences I've had in my life. And I remember I was able to call my chiropractor and get in the next morning, like, because it had been an afternoon. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: I got in the next morning, they were able to adjust it, and it was just sore and it was totally fine. But I remember telling my husband that, like, if I hadn't had that resource, I would have, and I had wound up giving birth naturally, like, without any pain medication, all of these things. And if I hadn't... done that, I know for a fact that I would have been in too much pain to like even breathe, let alone give birth. And I think like sometimes it's so helpful to remember that there's so many of these other resources that we can do to kind of bring her again, like that goes to the like specific pain point, but it goes to the understanding of like, there's so many resources that we can do to help our body naturally come back to a state of like the best equilibrium versus like all of the other resources, because I'm like, I would have had to been like an epidural or like a c-section or all these things guys, because I wouldn't have been able to handle labor at all. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: I think it's such a... there's such simple solutions to really terrifying problems. Like, you're probably thinking, my gosh, this is going to completely change this experience for me. I think connecting with the right people leads you in the right path all the time. I almost seem harassive, I'm sure, to my mom's, where I'm like, please, for the love of God, work with a doula. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Like... I know you think that your husband is the most supportive, wonderful man on the planet, emmamma: You Dr. Taylor Dempsey: but when he's going to be watching you in a very vulnerable position where he's never emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: seen you like this, you don't know what is going to happen. He might have gone to all of the birth classes with you. He might have read all of the books. He's going to be amazing. But have a doula who can talk you through the things that are happening at the end of pregnancy that your provider might have said or. emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: just somebody to call and talk to while you're laboring at home that's gonna say, you know what, stay a little bit longer or we need to head into the hospital wherever you're birthing. I am such an advocate for that because doulas connect people with their chiropractors, with maybe a massage therapist, with public floor PT, other people that can really be assets to them in the end of their pregnancy journey, plus be a huge advocate to stick with their birth plan when they're actually laboring. Thank emmamma: Yeah. I think that's such an important part of everything of just like having advocates in our corner for all aspects of our life. I think like, yeah, like doulas are like exactly the perfect person for birth because they've done this so many times and they have all this knowledge and they're able to walk with you and just be like an outside perspective. And like you had mentioned earlier, like, There's all these people who do different types of body work that can be like inner corner mental health people, like all of these professionals. There's all these people that we like can build our village. And sometimes I think we get so close to like, we can either handle it all on our own or like, we'll just pick one person because that's like all we have time for resources. But I think sometimes Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: we forget like that there's this aspect of like having this huge village and community that really just helps us out in so many different ways. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Absolutely, and a lot of women tell us that they don't have the village within their family or emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: their friends to make the choices that they are. I had a woman that I did a home visit with about a week and a half ago that, maybe this was a little bit earlier, my love. brain is all running together, emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: that I did a home visit with and she was telling me that before birth, know, her whole family is just saying like, go get induced, go do this, you know, just, you know, just speed it along, whatever, whatever. And she wanted to have a VBAC and the, it would have been totally different had she made different choices. I mean, she went into labor naturally. Her, From start to finish, she was in labor for like six and a half hours before baby was born. She was adjusted throughout her pregnancy. You know, she made her choices, but of course she's got people saying like, yeah, just schedule the induction or yeah, just schedule the C-section. I did that, that's how I did it. You know, you emmamma: Mm-hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: don't want to try for a V-back, whatever. but she had a doula, she had a chiropractor, she had team of people saying like, you got this, and it might emmamma: Yeah. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: not be your family. mean, family can be really hard because everybody wants you to do things as you did, but we are so emmamma: Hmm. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: many beautiful birth stories in our practice of people that are so determined to have a different experience than maybe their friends, their family, or even their first birth. and they really, really dedicate to it. we're cheering them on saying, like, you got this. Like, baby is going to flip. We're going to get to that appointment, and you're going to see that their position has changed and speaking it into existence, you know? emmamma: Yeah, I love that. think that, yeah, that's so good. And I think that it often just comes down to like trusting your body and like trust, like trusting your own body that it's going to do what you need it to do and what you want it to do. Cause yeah, all that negative talk can really mess with your brain too. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. emmamma: And just being able to have those conversations and that support is such a helpful aspect of care in general. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: 100%. emmamma: Yeah. What else do you want to share with people who are listening either about chiropractic care or just like you as a human being and how you approach life? Dr. Taylor Dempsey: I think everybody needs a chiropractor. There are amazing resources. If you're listening to this and you're not in Charleston, there are awesome resources to find chiropractors that actually take care of, that are prioritizing the nervous system and not just pain and twisting, cracking, popping, get out of here, that they wanna make relationships with you. So I highly recommend the Principled Chiropractic Association, Nervous System Chiro Database. ICPA to look for a Webster certified chiropractor. We all learn about adjusting pregnant women and children during school, but we don't leave with the certification. people that have spent extra time and effort taking tests outside of school to learn Webster. So you can use the ICPA. There's a couple of other databases, but those are the ones that we're on where we really connect and the caros are vetted for, you do they specifically take care of their nervous system? And I think when it comes to fertility and pregnancy in general, or even that postpartum period, assessing your stress is going to lead you to so many answers and solutions. You can have all of the normal labs, tests, scans in the world, but if you or your partner are stressed, then your body will not perceive conception as a safe outcome. or even having an enjoyable pregnancy. So your body is always working for your best interest. A lot of us think like my body's so against me, I'm in pain, I'm bloated, I'm constipated, whatever. But your body is signaling you and working in your best interest, even if it doesn't seem like it. And it operates with the resources and information that it has at the time. So body work, chiropractic, mental health care is so essential to Give your body new tools and apps and information to heal. And there's no reason people have to just live as they're living and just accept their current situation as they're forever. So your body can heal. It's always possible to heal if we give it the right tools, whether it's sunshine, food, nervous system care, sleep, are going to do huge, huge things for you. emmamma: I that. think that's such a powerful aspect of just care in general. And I think, I think as a society, we're kind of turning that way as a, as a whole, but I think there's still like these steps of people needing to make sure that this is a priority for them of just getting, getting in all of those aspects of their life. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Mm-hmm. Yes, 100%. emmamma: Awesome. Well, it's been so much fun talking with you. so if people are listening and they're in the Charleston area or they just want to connect with you in general, how best can people connect with you? Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Instagram is always a great way. Luminary chiropractic on Instagram. I run our Instagram so if you want to connect Also our website, if you are in the Charleston area and want to schedule a consultation with us to learn more about your health, illuminarechiropractic.com, you can schedule with us online because I'm always interested in connecting with new people, even if you're not in the area of just leading you to body workers in your area, for practice members of ours that are moving or they're getting stationed somewhere else. Like I will call chiropractors in the area to emmamma: I love that. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: make sure that I will trust them with the people that I care for. So yes, please connect. emmamma: Well, thanks so much for being here and sharing all of your experiences. Dr. Taylor Dempsey: Yes, thank you so much for having me, Emma. emmamma: Yeah, absolutely. Emmamma: Thanks so much for being here today on the cyclical doula podcast. If this episode resonated with you, the most powerful thing that you can do is to share it, send it to a friend, text it to your sister, forward it to that group chat. This is how conversations about our bodies start changing, quietly, organically, woman to woman. If you are listening and thinking, okay, I want help applying this to my cycle, I offer free cycle clarity calls. It's a relaxed conversation over Zoom where we talk through your goals, your charting practices, and what kind of support that would actually make sense for you. You can book one at emmamma.com / free. And if you haven't already, make sure you're following or subscribe to the Cyclical Doula - podcast so that you don't miss future episodes. And if you feel called to leave a rating or review, it genuinely helps more women find this work. So thank you. You deserve to understand your body. You deserve to feel confident in your reproductive choices. And you don't have to figure it out alone. I'll see you next week. Thanks for being here.