C&W do allow elective c-sections - I am just going through the process for my second child at that hospital now. Every hospital does - they can just make it very difficult for you.
The NICE guidelines state that a woman should be given an elective C-section if she wants one and that a woman should be treated respectfully as regards her choices. A hospital can 'offer' counselling sessions etc if they think for example you want one out of a misguided fear of giving birth (the wording of the NICE guidelines leads me to believe you could refuse to go though). If a specific consultant won't give you a c-section, they have a duty to refer you to a consultant that will.
If you are asking for a C-section, doctors will take you more seriously if you are informed and have done your research. Read the NICE quidelines on C-sections. Read about the process doctors are to follow (a midwife cannot sign you off for a C-section so book an appointment with a consultant). Read about the different risk profiles of vaginal birth vs C-section that are in the appendices to the relevant NICE guidelines (and tell them that you have done so). The two procedures have different risk profiles but many doctors will tell you that given medical advances with surgery they carry about the same level of risk.
NICE guidelines:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg132/ ... troduction
This is a great article (if a bit old) about C-sections vs natural birth:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/re ... /23/health
If you have a reason why you want an elective C-section, prepare yourself to explain it well. I switched to an elective c-scetion at about 32 weeks with my first pregnancy, because my mum suffered terribly with vaginal prolapse. As did my dad's sisters. There is a hereditary element to this - so if your mum or blood other relatives have suffered from this - you are more likely to. Queen Charlottes hospital doesn't think that this is a valid reason for having a C-section - but this doesn't matter. There is a case - Montgomery v Lanarkshire County Counsel that says it is the patients evaluation of the risk - not the doctors that is relevant. So given that a vaginal birth does increase your risk of vaginal prolapse later in life as against a c-section - it doesn't matter if the doctors think this isn't a good reason - it is the patients evaluation of the risk that matters at law.
There are also a number of studies that link a woman's feeling of control over the birth process to her likelihood of suffering from PND. This is important - and a valid argument that you need to feel that your choices are respected.
Montgomery v Lanarkshire County Counsel commentary:
http://www.39essex.com/cop_cases/montgo ... lth-board/ (read what Lady Hale says)
http://www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk/montgo ... 5-uksc-11/ (this case is about informed consent but important point is that patient's can determine the risks that they are prepared to take and doctors value judgements about C-sections shouldn't interfere).
