IMHO, water birth research will present a couple of red flags. I don't care if it makes mom more comfortable. So do epidurals and medication. Thanks to our friend Eve childbirth hurts, or so the story goes. I can't help but point out that mammals make an effort to find a safe place to give birth - primates, bovines, equines, felines, canines - on dry land. Marine animals - seals, otters etc haul out to give birth.