Your doctor may advise you to induce labor for a variety of reasons, the most common of which being worry for the mother's or the baby's health. For example, suppose you're two weeks beyond your due date and labor hasn't begun spontaneously (postterm pregnancy). Your doctor might recommend induction as a way to get your baby out safely — either because of concerns about the health of the mother or fetus/neonate. Inducing labor can be done by several methods: prostaglandins, cervical ripening drugs, herbal remedies, and labor induction pills are all ways that doctors can try to get your body to start labor on its own so that you don't have to go through with a natural birth after all these efforts have failed to do so. Doctors often recommend induction as a way to ensure a safe delivery for mothers with complications related to their pregnancy or childbirth. For example, if a mother has pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure when not pregnant) and is waiting to deliver her baby, her doctor may advise an induction in order to avoid any further damage to the kidneys from the high blood pressure. Or, if a mother has diabetes and requires a C-section because of limited fetal movement, her doctor may advise an induction so that she can have the skin to skin contact with her baby right after he is born.