Maternal is the only method I use with my balls and I've never had any health issues with my girls. Most people prefer artificial incubation because there is more direct control over conditions and for beginners the majority of information available is focused on various methods of artificial incubation. There are very few, if any, guidelines for maternal incubation available. There is, however, plenty of misinformation out there and that dissuades many keepers from ever trying it - the big one being "females on eggs will not eat". Many breeders want to keep their girls' weight gaining steadily so they can make use of her again the following season and they feel it's in their best interest to remove the eggs from the equation. Most of mine continue to feed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis while on eggs though a few are more sporadic (they can be just as sporadic without being on eggs). If I ever thought allowing my snakes to brood their clutches was a real health risk I wouldn't do it this way.
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