> The process would be safer (and less painful) if the path mimicked a caesarean section, with the baby exiting through the navel.

Prenatal development research posits that natural birth is a required “early training experience” and that a lack or disruption of that collaboration between mother, environment and (already conscious) baby during pregnancy and during birth (like cesarean) may result in various psychological deficiencies/difficulties later in life.

See eg.

The Emotional Ramifications of Being Born in a Cesarean Delivery (2017) https://birthpsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/liVQo...

Cesarean childbirth and psychosocial outcomes: A meta-analysis. (1996) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-05270-009