You Deserve to be Heard: Becoming Your Own Health Advocate with Nikala Lighty, Gynecology PA-C

How Understanding Your Body Leads to Real Wellness

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BY JENNY SMITH MATTFELDT Published April 29, 2025

This information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for any medical concerns or before making changes to your health regimen.

There's a universal story that most women share when it comes to seeing a gynecologist. Maybe it’s the time a doctor brushed off your pain as “just cramps.” Or the fifth time you were told your labs were “fine,” even though you knew something was off. In a world where women are often dismissed or talked over in medical spaces, meeting someone like Nikala Lighty, PA-C, feels like a breath of fresh air.

If that sounds like you—if you’ve ever walked out of an appointment feeling dismissed, overwhelmed, or like maybe you were just being dramatic—you’re not alone. And more importantly, you’re not wrong. You deserve answers, clarity, and care that actually sees you.

Nikala specializes in gynecology and high-risk pregnancies, but her passion runs deeper than her credentials. At the heart of her work is a mission to empower women—through education, empathy, and a willingness to meet patients exactly where they are. She believes that taking charge of your health begins with understanding your body, and that there is absolutely nothing shameful about doing so.

Her journey into medicine started early. Growing up with a dad who was a surgical tech in the military, she was exposed to the medical field from a young age. She was always fascinated by science, and that early curiosity grew into a calling. But it wasn’t until she began practicing that she realized how broken the system often is for women.

"So many times, women are told 'that's normal' or 'your labs look fine,'" she explains. "But the truth is, we still don't know enough." Medical research didn’t even start including women in clinical trials until the late 1980s and early 1990s. We're just now beginning to understand things we should have known decades ago.

Medical research didn’t even include women until the late '80s. No wonder we’re still being dismissed.

Education is at the core of everything she does. "There are so many adult women who don’t know what’s normal for their bodies," she says. We have to start talking about it—with our daughters, with our friends, with ourselves.

One of her most memorable pieces of advice? "Know what your vagina looks like. Get a mirror. Check it out. If you don’t know what normal looks like for you, how will you know when something’s wrong? God created your body. There is nothing shameful about it."

If reading that made you squirm a little, that's okay— maybe that’s the point. We’ve been conditioned to look away from our bodies instead of getting to know them. What would happen if we started looking closer instead?

She doubled down that message is especially important for mothers, it's so important for women not to lose themselves in caregiving. "Your kids can’t be your whole life. What are you passionate about? What brings you joy? Your health matters too. If you want to be here for your kids long-term, you have to put yourself first."

This self-prioritization isn’t selfish—it’s necessary. It’s like putting your oxygen mask on first on a plane. You can’t care for others if you’re running on empty.

Though her training was in traditional medicine, Nikala developed a more holistic approach over time. She noticed that many patients were hungry for more than a prescription. “With PCOS, for example, I was taught that obesity was a main factor. But once I started seeing patients, I realized that wasn't always true. Not everyone fit the mold. So I started doing my own research.”

Now, she takes a balanced approach—addressing symptoms to keep patients comfortable while also digging for root causes. She combines her medical education with a deep respect for lifestyle, mental health, and the real-world complexities of being a woman.

What can you do to help yourself? Start by doing your own research. If you're dealing with something that doesn't feel right, take the time to educate yourself. Knowledge is power, understand what might be causing your symptoms and what tests or treatments could be beneficial. And most importantly, advocate for yourself. If you know the tests you need, ask for them. Trust your instincts; you know your body better than anyone. If something feels off, don’t let a doctor brush you off. Be your own health advocate because your well-being depends on it.

"I’ll prescribe what you need," she says, "but I’ll also help you understand why this is happening in the first place. That’s how we create real change."

This starts early with better sex ed. Better conversations. Better access to information. Because the truth is, when women are educated, the shame starts to fall away. And what replaces it is powerful: confidence, clarity, and the ability to advocate for yourself.

When women are educated, the shame starts to fall away. It gets replaced by confidence, clarity, and the ability to advocate for yourself.

If there’s one takeaway from Nikala’s work, it’s this: your body is not something to be ignored or hidden or silenced. It’s yours to know, understand, and honor.

So get the mirror. Ask the questions. Read the books. Find the doctor who listens. You were never meant to be a mystery—especially to yourself.

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