Sorry this is a long one....
I'm 31 weeks pregnant with baby no. 3 and have been offered the choice of a c-section or natural delivery. My 1st DD was born at 41+5 weighing 8lb1 after many sweeps with a natural birth which took a very long time to progress and resulted in an epidural and forceps but no other issues. My 2nd DS was a quick labour after multiple sweeps, 4 hours all in from pains to birth, at 41+4 weighing 9lb1, but he had mild shoulder dystocia which was resolved with the McRoberts Manoeuvre and then I had retained placenta so had to go into theatre for a spinal with manual removal.
The consultant has said there is an increased chance of both shoulder dystocia and retained placenta which is why a c-section has been brought up but a natural birth with no complications is possible so the ball is in my court. The other alternative is being induced at 39/40 weeks to prevent the baby getting too big, as my pregnancies usually go over, however this doesn't appeal to me as i've read/been advised that induction can sometimes lead to shoulder dystocia so that option doesn't seem so appealing/logical?!
My midwife is VERY firmly of the opinion I should go for a natural birth as she believes both can be avoided if managed well by a midwife. Problem is, both times I have given birth, the care has been stretched due to the how busy it was so my faith in care provided during birth is limited. Both times no rooms and/or midwives were available and I spent a lot of my active labour in a waiting room. The thing i'm most scared of is choosing a natural birth and complications happening to the baby due to getting stuck and having to live with making that choice. With two risk factors I was leaning towards a c-section but my midwife has made me feel silly for even considering it so I'd really appreciate any opinions/advice/experience on the matter!
Thanks all!