The first thing I think you should do is forget about public perception. The birth of your child is a very personal and private journey and you shouldnt be influenced by or worried about what you think others may or may not think about it!

My DD was born by emergency c/sect when her heart rate dropped after 60hrs of regular contractions - although i was disappointed, i was exhausted and felt like i couldnt take any more and of course my first priority was to have a healthy baby! Because my labour had gone for so long I ended up bleeding heavily during the c/sect and came close to needing a transfusion. When i was pg with my second child I told my OB that i definitely wanted a VBAC which he was happy with but said he wanted to investigate why my previous labour failed to progress. I had a CT scan and they found that my pelvis was narrow and that the baby may have difficulty turning during birth. My OB explained that although a VBAC was possible, it was highly likely that id end up having another emergency c/sect and because id had some hemoraging the first time that he advised against it. I thought long and hard about it and finally decided that I would follow his advice and have another c/sect (and also went on to have a 3rd).

I think its a hard call. If you know why your labour failed to progress, like I did, it makes that decision a little easier - well maybe not so easy but at least you can rationalise it in your head.
You need to go with your instincts. You have plenty of time to decide so try not to stress about it. Just listen to your heart and your body and whatever decision you make will be the right decision for YOU and YOUR BABY xx