Backstory: When I was pregnant with DD, I switched to a midwife practice and chose a birthing center with a tub (St Lukes Roosevelt in Manhattan) to try my best for a med-free natural birth. Long story short, after 16 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing DD was deemed as "arrested decent" due to her posterior position combined with brows-out orientation - she was literally wedged. We ended up getting a c-section and I had to sit still while contractions were on top of one another to get the spinal before the procedure.

I am due with #2 at the end of June and this time around, I wasn't eligible for the birthing center since I had a prior c-section so I went to an OB practice affiliated with a separate hospital (NYU Langone). We've been having some talks about birth plans at the last few visits and my OB practice states they are pro-VBAC, which is what I wanted to try for. However, they've been pushing me to get an epidural catheter inserted even though I want a med-free birth because "if I end up needing an emergency c-section, then they can just pump the meds in to do it but if I don't get the epi catheter put it, they will put me under for the c-section". I feel like this is a scare tactic to make me get the epi catheter. Why would I want a giant a$$ needle stuck in my spine as a just-in-case?!?! OB explained there is a 1% chance of uterine rupture because of my prior c-section scar and if that 1% scenario happened, then they would have to put me under to get her out if I didn't have the epidural catheter. But I'm thinking that for the 99% remaining chance of NOT having that happen, I don't want the catheter put in. If I did (*knock on wood but I hope it doesn't happen) have a uterine rupture, then I can accept needing to be put under. But what are the other chances of needing that emergency c-section? Also, my OB says NYU Langone does not do epi/spinals on emergency c-sections and they just knock you out. Is this true? Does anyone else who delivered here know if this is true? That they just automatically knock you out because you didn't opt for the just-in-case catheter? That just seems wrong to me......

Sorry for the novella... just really confused now and partly wish I stuck with the midwife practice even though I'd be on the L&D floor at St Lukes.