A natural (or vaginal birth I think is what you mean) is much less riskier for bubs in most cases. The WHO (world health organisation) has calculated a 10-15% caesarean rate as actually medically necessary, so its not ALWAYS safer to have a vaginal birth if you have certain medical conditions of course.
The actual labour/contractions prime your baby for birth - it doesn't stress them out. If your baby is genuinely stressed during contractions, then it could be position related, health related etc, but the actual real stress is low, more common in the really long labours when bub 'gets tired'. I have seen mum get really sick during labour which was a long one, but bubs didn't skip a heartbeat! 160bpm the WHOLE time! But mum had a fever, lots of blood in urine and it was not nice for her at all. But bubs was peaceful and happy.
There is no 'better' choice for anyone, it's not any good saying one is better than the other, so your best bet is to research and find out what it means for you making either choice.
The main differences are this: a caesarean is a major abdominal surgery and that comes with it's own risks without saying. Also there is risk of infection (common to get a wound or other infection requiring antibiotics), six weeks recovery time, pressure to have a caesarean next time (but this is not necessarily what you have to choose and you may have to fight for it), baby has a risk of unexpected prematurity and respiratory problems. During a caesarean, their lungs are not able to be massaged by the vaginal walls as they would with a normal birth and yes their heartrate can drop before birth but this is usually NORMAL as it's baby's way of preparing for birth. The body is an amazing thing. You can imagine like your contractions, a slow buildup is managable, as is the slow labour, but with a caesarean, birth is instantaneous. One minute they are in the uterus, the next they are out. The fluid is still filled in their lungs as the contractions haven't squeezed it out - they can sometimes get 'wet lung'.
A vaginal birth might involve pain of labour for a day, but a caesarean is a six week recovery period and can involve much more pain for more than that. In most cases, you get a brief glimpse of your baby before it is born, then baby is taken while you are stitched up and spend a couple of hours on your own and in recovery. So it can be hard waiting all that time not being able to be with your baby while everyone else is. If you have a vaginal birth, baby can be put right onto you and begin feeding right away. You can usually get up quite soon after and feel completely normal and go have a shower, go to the toilet etc. I don't want to turn this into a who got what symptoms and problems with their caesarean but this is just a handful of what you might find, without overdramatising - these are facts.
There's lots of things to think about - but most importantly inform yourself, make the decision that feels right for you and you if you can do that without anyone else's influence you will have a great experience as it was an informed one.
I'd strongly recommend reading some books like 'New Active Birth' by Janet Balaskas, don't bother with 'what to expect when you are expecting' if you truly want to be informed and empowered.
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