I had two emergency c-sections but they were very different - first was middle of night after laboring for around 40 hours - I was exhausted hardly remember a thing - second I made the decision to go to c-section much earlier (as soon as labor started presenting in exactly the same way as first) so was done around 16:00 and was a completely different experience - almost pleasant and it didn't seem like an emergency (baby just stuck not in distress). The recovery was pretty much the same both times, just a bit more tired the first time due to laboring longer. I always had in my mind that I was open to a section but I really wanted to go into labor on my own (I had always thought there must be some benefits in allowing it to at least start on its own - but that was just my gut feel) - but I did read recently about a study which showed that the microbe composition of milk was different depending on if had emergency or elective c-section - suggesting that was driven by the process of laboring - which I thought was really interesting (Google - The human milk microbiome changes over lactation and is shaped by maternal weight and mode of delivery).

It is very individual - I was very confident that my body would give me a sign and time to act on that - and it did - but am sure with much faster labor a decision to go to c-section after labor has started is not always possible.