So a friend of mine was just sharing her birth story with me. She delivered at a private maternity wing and had consultant led care.
She went into labour in the morning, but till late evening she hadn't dilated much and the external fetal monitor had begun to show that the baby's heart rate was very,very low and it would stop with some contractions.
So her doctor gave her the option of either an internal fetal monitor (where they go through the vagina to get to the baby's scalp and place an electrode.)
She also mentioned something about drawing blood from the scalp (??) 
She said that if the option of an internal monitor was unacceptable, they would have to do an EMCS. It's worth mentioning that she was classed as medium risk and the baby was early.
I've seen so many childbirth videos with women who have internal fetal monitors, and I didn't know one could choose a cesarian instead. Or is it that she had a choice because she went private?
Personally I think it's nice that the consultant involved her in the decision making process and suggested to do a cesarian, but I'm only wondering if this would be common practice in NHS hospitals.
Please try not to turn this into a cesarian v/s natural or midwife v/s consultant thread.