I don't have personal experience, but can you request the intermittent monitoring be done via handheld doppler? That's generally the best option. A lot of practices/hospitals will want you on the EFM for 20 mins every hour or every 2 hours, which sounds like a complete PITA to me, but it's more because a) they don't want to deal with doing it with a handheld because it's more hands on (obviously) and b) they want a record to cover their butt.
Of course my suggestion about the doppler is if you're looking for a compromise or want them to check in on baby's heartrate in some way throughout labor.
ETA: Also, as far as increasing risk of C/S and that sort of thing, I wouldn't think that the 20 mins on the monitor every 2 hours will have the impact you're talking about of increasing your risks because it's still intermittent rather than continuous, which is the situation where they "see things" they become concerned about and move to a possibly unnecessary C/S. Now, keeping you confined to the bed could certainly have a negative impact in some ways, but as far as the usual concern with continuous EFM increasing chances of C/S I don't think it's applicable with the intermittent EFM.