More women are paying attention to pelvic floor health before, during, and after pregnancy, while a separate cancer forecast in Belgium points to rising cases and heavier pressure on care.
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Expectant parents are approaching pregnancy with more curiosity than before, asking not only about childbirth and postpartum recovery but also about how to prepare their bodies in advance. That includes a growing focus on the pelvic floor, the group of muscles that supports the bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs. Experts say the pelvic floor is central to everyday functions such as urination, bowel control, and sex, yet many women only learn about it after a problem develops.
Doctors and therapists say the pelvic floor deserves more attention long before pregnancy begins. During pregnancy, the growing fetus places extra strain on those muscles, and symptoms such as constipation and urinary leakage are common even before delivery. After birth, hormone shifts can make the tissues less flexible, especially for breastfeeding mothers. The result is a stage of life when women need to know how to relax the pelvic floor, bear down properly, and recover strength without creating more tension.
Specialists say core strength matters because the pelvic floor does not work alone. The diaphragm, abdominal muscles, back, and pelvic floor function as a system, and weakness in one area can force the others to compensate. That is why pelvic floor training before pregnancy can help reduce urinary incontinence, lower the risk of severe perineal tears during vaginal birth, and support postpartum recovery. In practical terms, better awareness may also mean shorter pushing phases and less tearing.
One labor and delivery clinician recently noticed a pattern among patients who seemed especially prepared for birth. Many were using Pilates during pregnancy, and they appeared more in tune with breathing, core control, and pelvic floor engagement. The workout itself is not a substitute for pelvic floor therapy and it is not a guarantee of an easy delivery, but it can help build body awareness and strength. For many women, that kind of conditioning appears to make labor more manageable.
Pelvic floor care, however, extends far beyond pregnancy. Therapists say it also matters during menopause, in the postpartum period, and in daily life. Some clients seek help for painful sex or an inability to have sex, often because the pelvic floor muscles are too tight. In those cases, treatment may include education about anatomy and exercises that help patients visually and physically connect with their bodies. For many women, this is the first time they have been taught how the vagina, clitoris, and labia fit into a larger picture of pelvic health.
Health professionals say the silence around these issues has lasted too long. Many women never receive basic education about bladder health, bowel health, periods, or what is normal and what is not. Some discover only after a problem arises that urinary leakage can be treated, that tampon insertion should not be painful, or that a so-called small bladder is not a real diagnosis. The push for better education is reaching younger generations as well, with advice to start conversations about periods and pelvic health before age 16.
That change matters because pelvic floor problems are often passed down through generations of silence rather than through biology alone. Women who have dealt with prolapse, incontinence, or painful sex are increasingly encouraging daughters to learn earlier and ask questions sooner. Experts believe that proactive education could reduce pelvic floor problems in the future, though many women are still only learning the basics now.
A separate health forecast in Belgium points to a different kind of pressure on the medical system. A new projection from the cancer registry estimates that annual cancer diagnoses will rise by more than 15,000 by 2035, from 77,344 cases in 2023 to more than 93,000. Population growth and aging are expected to drive most of the increase, though some cancers are also rising in risk. That means roughly 1,300 additional cases per year, or about 44 more each day.
The expected rise is already raising concerns about capacity and cost. Cancer care spending has climbed above two billion and has quadrupled over the past decade. Treatments are becoming more advanced, but also more expensive, creating a growing challenge for affordability and access. Health leaders warn that the system will need to absorb more patients while continuing to fund newer therapies.
The burden will not be evenly distributed across cancer types. Lung cancer in men is expected to remain relatively stable, but cases among women are projected to rise sharply over the coming years, reflecting smoking patterns from decades ago. Ovarian cancer may decline slightly, helped by the protective effect of the pill, more preventive removal of fallopian tubes during some surgeries, and preventive ovary removal in women with hereditary risk.
Melanoma remains one of the fastest-growing cancers and is expected to keep rising. More alertness to suspicious skin spots may be part of the increase, but experts say the deeper problem is that responsible sun protection is still not followed consistently. Sunburns have become more common again, and only about half of young people report protecting themselves. Survival has improved sharply because of immunotherapy, but the rise in diagnoses reflects past exposure to sun and tanning beds, which cannot be reversed quickly.
Other cancers show more encouraging trends. Stomach cancer is expected to fall by about a third, in part because of greater attention to Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium once thought harmless but now known to raise the risk of ulcers and cancer in some people. Liver and pancreatic cancers are moving in the opposite direction, with links to alcohol use, smoking, and unhealthy diet at the population level. Pancreatic cancer remains especially difficult to treat, with only about 10 percent of patients alive after five years in classic cases.
Even so, researchers and clinicians see signs of progress. New RAS inhibitors have shown positive results in studies aimed at pancreatic cancer, and mRNA vaccine research is also seen as promising. For a disease that has long resisted treatment, those developments offer cautious optimism. The broader lesson is the same across both pelvic health and cancer care: prevention, education, and earlier attention can change outcomes, but only if patients and doctors make room for them well before a crisis arrives.
