Don’t get me wrong. I am not putting you down for having an epidural or the vacuum. I am just pointing out the facts.
To reduce the chance of tearing during birth you need to try to control the speed of the birth of the head slower is better. Also your position during birth can help to prevent tears. You could also consider looking at ‘the pink kit’. You will find info about it in the articles section of this site or you could google it. Perineal massage is also supposed to help reduce tearing. If you do tear then providing that it is not a large tear it is easy to repair and usually heals faster than if they cut you.
C/S has its place, and I don’t think you should consider avoiding it at all costs. However it is an operation and does have many potential problems associated with it. Should you decide that this is for you I advise you to do some research on the potential problems.