In my first birth, I was induced at 37 weeks following multiple episodes of reduced movements. I had an epidural as I moved into established labour and following that I really struggled to know how to push baby out. I ended up with a forceps delivery and an episiotomy which it took me months to fully recover from.
This time around, I've been advised that if I go for natural labour they would want to give me an epidural earlier in labour (if I wanted one) so that there's more time for them to insert it between contractions. However, I was hoping to have an opportunity to see how my labour is going before deciding whether I wanted an epidural or not.
This is leading me to considering a planned c - section to avoid a repeat of my last experience. I'm under no illusion that the recovery would be easy, but then it wasn't last time either.
The question is, do I give myself the chance to see how a natural birth goes or give myself a more predictable (and hopefully less stressful) birth experience? I struggle a lot with the unknown and I feel like this is also pulling me towards a C-section but then I worry I'm making the decision with the wrong priorities in mind.