Water birthing apparatus for use in a bath sized to accommodate an adult woman in childbirth, the bath having a base wall and one or more side walls extending upwardly from the base wall to an upper edge to define an open top, including: a false floor sized to cover at least some of the base wall of the bath and including drainage means for draining water from above the false floor to below the false floor; and lifting means associated with the false floor and operable for moving the false floor between a lower position at which the false floor is adjacent or resting on the base wall and an elevated position spaced at which the false floor is spaced above the base wall, and wherein the means includes a plurality of lifting arms connected to the false floor and extending from a movable carriage assembly mounted to a carriage track, the carriage assembly being movable up and down the carriage track.