Generally, the term water birth covers any labor following which the mother gives birth while sitting in a tub or pool of warm water. Occasionally, a mother will go through labor while sitting in a pool or tub of warm water only to get out and deliver outside of the water. This process is also referred to as water birth, though a more accurate description would be water labor. The practice of immersion during labor has generated intense debate. Proponents of water birth stress that the birth is less traumatic for the baby, more relaxing for the mother and reduces pain in both parties. Those against water birth have focused their research on the increased potential for infection and a slowing of the labor process. Studies aimed at targeting both the positive and negative effects of water birth are ongoing and continue to accumulate numbers aimed at establishing an acceptable database to provide definitive statements.

Waterbirths can occur in most environments where deliveries are handled. Hospitals should be contacted ahead of time by expectant parents to see if they permit water births in their maternity wards. When contacting a hospital for a water birth, it is beneficial to inquire about the birthing tub. If a hospital does not offer the services of a birthing tub, one can be rented. There are a number of retailers who rent water birth tubs, usually for around $350. Physicians who encourage their patients to undertake a water birth may have alternate arrangements in the evemt a hospital will not accommodate the water birth. The doctor's office may serve as a suitable and common place for the practice of water birth. Water birth pools are usually about 25 inches deep, and come in varying sizes to accommodate either the mother or the mother and the father. There are hard-sided versions as well as inflatable pools, which boasts higher levels of comfort and ease of movement within.

Mothers who have experienced water birth often claim that the water is relaxing and soothing throughout labor. The buoyancy of the human body helps to float the mother somwhat during a water birth. With a lessening of the weight so commonly associated with discomfort during pregnancies, water births enable the expectant mother to change positions more easily. Less distress while changing positions helps to keep blood pressure low, which is also a function of the body encouraged by immersion in water. Weightlessness promotes improved circulation, which advocates of water birth claim is beneficial to the uterus and, in turn, lessens the pain expeerienced by the mother. By heating the water in which the baby will be born, there is less of a shock to the body than the dry, cold hospital air. Advocates of water birth claim that the smooth transition from the liquids of the womb to the warm water of a birthing tub relaxes the baby and lowers its stress through delivery. It is considered by many to be a much more comforting environment than immediate exposure to the lights and sounds of a delivery room.

Those who resist water birth as a wise method of delivery focus on several arguments to support their discouragement of the process. One negative effect of water birth that has been widely contested is the belief that water will increase the likelihood of infection. Proponents of water birth claim that today's practices of constant disinfection and sterility make infection highly unlikely. Another negative associated with water birth is the child's inhalation of water during birth. Though there is no evidence to support such a theory, some pediatricians and obstetricians do believe the child could be inhaling water while still in the birth canal, or at least during the period of time they are in the water between the womb and the surface. Mothers who are infected with the herpes virus, pregnant with multiples or in labor prematurely should shy away from water birth as a means of delivery. The risks involved with these pregnancies imply that the best practice is to have a doctor's field of visions completely clear, with an ability to examine the child immediately after birth without the slow ascent water birthing creates. Herpes is a virus that survives well in the water, and proves easily trasferrable in such an environment. Any expectant mother who has been diagnosed with any blood disease associated with excessive bleeding should also refrain from the practice.