I had a posterior first labour. It was 8-3/4 hours and I delivered a 7.5oz baby at 36.3 with a small tear that did not need stitches.
A posterior labour is a different level of pain to a straightforward labour and I had an epidural about four hours in. Why wouldn't you. We aren't in ore Crimea days anymore and there is no need for childbirth to be brutal or to leave serious birth injuries.
I too was terrified of forceps but our problem was a dopey midwife who thought a falling heartbeat was due to a dodgy monitor. After the third dip my husband opened the door and yelled for a dr. The senior midwife arrived and the red button was hit. The room filled with people. The midwives got me on a birthing stool to push vigorously while the registrar got equipment ready. Baby had cord wrapped round his neck and it had to be cut while he was still inside. Too far down to push back for a section. I did manage to push him out on one last push. He was very blue and took ages to resuscitate. In doing so I burst a blood vessel in my eye and suffered a prolapsed bladder.
My advice is to speak to a senior midwife or registrar/consultant if necessary. Ask for figures for instrumental delivery and sections after exhausting labours for pisterior presentation. Have a discussion about staffing, 1:1 care and likelihood of that being provided by an experienced and kind midwife. Also ask if a portable scan can take place in very early labour to check position of baby and the cord. With that level of information you can make an informed decision about whether to elect for a csection.
DD's birth ran more like that. She was breach for a v long time and was a planned section until the day before when she turned. The consultant said it was my call. I said I could not justify non essential surgery but only if he could promise me an experienced midwife and an epidural on request. He did. DD ended up being induced at 41.3. It was a slow start and I refused the syntocynon drip until the epidural was in place (why suffer pain in the first world). Labour started during the 20 mins it took for the anaesthetist to arrive and the drip wasn't switched on. The epidural was though. DD arrived less than two hours later. Pink, fat and screaming. 8.13 - no stitches. It was a completely non traumatic labour due to the experience of midwives and high quality of care.
If I had to do it all again I'd have elected to have a csection the first time round. It took me years to realise how traumatic that birth was and the impact it had on me.
Birth isn't a fairy story of gently panting out a baby and risks in the 21st century are easily and safely avoided and there doesn't have to be massive trauma.
Ultimately birth and the fourth trimester are very small parts of being a mother and women need to be encouraged to be kind to themselves and to take calculated risks. It isn't a competition and those early weeks are exhausting. It's important to be rested and well cared for beforehand.
Good luck. Apols for mega long post.