Yep, I know all about relaxin. I wasn't saying that pelvic problems are caused by the second stage. If that was the case, no-one would experience it DURING pregnancy.

Just that what my physio said to me today (in my earlier post) makes a lot of sense. The underlying instability caused by the release of relaxin will be EXACERBATED by a bad position/long pushing stage.

The relaxin stops being released some time after the labour (I think it's two days) but if your pelvis is unstable already and/or damaged by the birth then the pain isn't going to magically disappear just because the relaxin has gone.

On the other hand, a caesarean won't damage your pelvis (if you have SPD) the way that pushing will, but it will damage the muscles that support your pelvic muscles. Those need to be strong in order to support your pelvis so that's why normally it takes longer to recover from a caesar with SPD. If you don't damage your pelvis from the pushing, then all is hunky dory but if you do, then you could very well end up with a longer recovery than the caesar would have been.