Thanks Natalie.... so why do people always say the risk of drowning if the baby does not breathe until out of the water?
Because they don't know that fact. However, it does help to consider that the baby doesn't try to breathe inside you, either - it is the change in pressure from the environment inside the womb to that outside that triggers the breathing process to start, and the fetal circulation to begin changing over to neonatal circulation. So, when the baby is born into water - specifically warm water, around 37 degrees, and is not brought to the surface - these changes won't take place.