You will probably have to ask me that second part again, but I'll start with the first part: Why was it shocking that only 6.7% received specialized exercise support?
The Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy came out, and that was a first in the world. Our physical activity guidelines during pregnancy have been adopted by a number of countries, so since we're leaders, you would expect that it would be adopted by our military, because it just makes sense.
We recommend 150 minutes per week for a pregnant woman to exercise. Fifty per cent didn't have modifications to their PT—they just continued on—and 27.6% stopped their physical training altogether. It's no wonder they are having issues returning to duty afterwards and meeting the physical fitness standard if we're not actually supporting them through pregnancy.
A number of females in Canada—there's a study out of the University of Alberta—are lifting up to 80% of their repetition max. They have, obviously, been training before pregnancy, but they can continue lifting through. The fact that only 6.7% received support is very disappointing, especially when you have a physical employment standard that you have to achieve and when you have a health services assistant that is supposed to support you through this process.
When I was doing this analysis, over 90% wanted support and would have taken support if they had it. To be fair, there are initiatives that have been started to address this issue, but when we're talking about veterans, we can't look at what's happening now. We have to look at the systems that were in place while they were serving and how those systems are affecting their physical health now.
With regard to the urinary incontinence and pelvic floor issues, there are a number of different things we can do. There's pelvic floor physio, which is quite common, and you don't just have to have had a baby to need or benefit from pelvic floor physio. This does treat and greatly reduce the symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, whether they be pelvic organ prolapse, fecal incontinence or urinary incontinence. You can do those during pregnancy, and after childbirth, it also assists.