We Deserve More: Why Reproductive Healthcare Is Broken--And What You Can Do about It

Navigate reproductive health systems with confidence and get the care you've always deserved

We Deserve More: Why Reproductive Healthcare is Broken--And What You Can Do About It, by Nikki Sapiro Vinckier, OB/GYN PA-C, exposes the systemic failures plaguing reproductive healthcare and shows readers how to advocate for themselves with clarity and confidence. Vinckier, a nationally recognized OB/GYN Physician Assistant with over a decade of clinical experience, reproductive health creator, and founder of Take Back Trust, takes on the root causes of medical dismissal, rushed and inadequate care, and the quiet traumas that leave millions of patients feeling invisible in exam rooms across America. Written through a nonpartisan lens, this book pulls back the curtain on what's broken in reproductive healthcare--and offers practical tools to speak up, be heard, and finally get the care you deserve.

Drawing on her extensive clinical background and advocacy work, Vinckier unpacks how flawed medical training, restrictive insurance policies, relentless time pressures, and systemic bias intersect to leave patients unheard and underserved. She examines everything from the routine downplaying of women's pain to the role social media has taken on as an unofficial medical resource, while centering the lived experiences of patients dismissed, delayed, or denied care--from Black maternal health inequities to overlooked menopause symptoms and years-long waits for an endometriosis diagnosis.

• Self-advocacy tools that work in the room: Practical scripts for pushing back when your pain is minimized, step-by-step prep for visits, and strategies for documenting encounters so you can be heard and taken seriously.
• Behind-the-scenes truth of the system: A clear look at how OB/GYN training, insurance rules, and time pressure actually shape the care you receive--and why so many providers end up overlooking conditions like endometriosis, menopause, and perinatal mental health.
• Validation with evidence: Blends clinical expertise with real patient stories to confirm what so many have felt--medical gaslighting, bias, and delayed diagnoses aren't "in your head," they're systemic patterns that can be named and challenged.
• Comprehensive navigation for every stage: From painful periods to fertility struggles, from respectful birth to menopause, the book offers strategies to find affirming providers, advocate for pain management, and build care that finally centers you.

This book serves women, queer people, and people with uteruses ages 18-60 who have felt dismissed, confused, or traumatized by reproductive healthcare--and are ready to demand better. It is equally essential for healthcare providers, advocates, and supporters who want to understand and address the systemic barriers shaping reproductive care.

Whether you are navigating painful periods brushed off as "normal," searching for answers after years without a diagnosis, struggling to find real menopause care, fighting for respectful reproductive healthcare, or simply trying to be heard in the exam room, We Deserve More provides the validation, strategy, and solidarity you need to transform your healthcare experience and finally be heard.

Author: Nikki Sapiro Vinckier
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Published: 05/19/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.14h x 5.92w x 1.03d
ISBN: 9781394407798

About the Author

Nikki Sapiro Vinckier, PA-C, is an OB/GYN Physician Associate with over a decade of clinical experience and the Founder of Take Back Trust, a digital reproductive health platform offering evidence-based guidance and advocacy tools to patients across the United States. She works at the intersection of medicine, media, and the reproductive health movement, using her clinical expertise to inform her education and activism. Her content reaches 30-40 million people each month through social media. She has been featured in Newsweek, Huffington Post, Courier News, and Gander Newsroom, and has appeared on numerous leading reproductive justice podcasts. She is known for translating complex medical systems into accessible, empowering language that helps patients navigate their care with clarity and confidence.