FTM and low-risk pregnancy.
I am anxious about birth. Not because of birth itself, but because of the appalling statistics from our local trust. Nearly 40% of births recently have ended in an EMCS in one month. Nearly 25% were assisted vaginal. Anecdotally I don’t know of anyone who has recently had a positive experience first time around, and know quite a few who have had terrible experiences resulting in needing a debrief and sometimes physio after.
If there’s such a high chance of needing an emergency section anyway I would rather not labour for hours or days, exhausted, and then have everything rushed at the end. Surely better to go into it rested.
I accept recovery will likely be far worse than a standard vaginal birth but nobody can guarantee me one of those and it might end in section anyway; the unexpected alternatives are what freaks me out, such as needing forceps or an episiotomy or even just experiencing a really bad tear.
I am calmer with predictability and always have been. As it stands we are considering being one and done, we may have one more child in the future if we change our minds.
Did anyone choose a section for similar reasons and did you get much backlash, or were they keen to support your choice?