This was her second complicated birth; their first son having been delivered eight weeks prematurely by emergency caesarean section after she developed pre-eclampsia.
Critics of elective caesarean section, maintain that decision metrics are ambiguous, and that trial of labor would often be successful without open abdominal surgery.
Frequently the attempt to resolve the prolapsed cord and deliver the baby vaginally fails, and an emergency caesarean section must be performed immediately.