Hello, I'm having a CS this time round (public hospital in ACT) due to previous traumatic experience. However it may depend on actual hospital & their guidelines. In my case I ended up with post traumatic stress disorder and probably PND after my first birth (pretty extreme example) but I was able to describe the negative effect the birth had on me, my bonding and my emotional well being for quite some time afterwards. It also helped that I ended up with a vaginal prolapse and had to go off for some anal surgery afterwards too. What I'm trying to say is she might need to be quite clear about what her trauma was and how it affected her, and amplify that with any other problems she had afterwards as a result of the birth, as just saying that it was horrible and she doesn't want to do it again is not likely to be enough of a reason. Having said that, a CS is not the answer for everyone, possibly a different setting with more support (like a doula) and better pain management may end up being the best thing for her. It's a discussion she needs to have with her own doctors and caregivers.

I rang the hospital before I even fell pregnant and spoke to the Midwife in charge about the policies and practices re CS at maternal request. Maybe this would be helpful for your friend too as she will get an idea of how sympathic each hospital is likely to be to her request.