Over 70% of pregnant women will have to be induced after their due date. And if you are woman dealing with this, as a recent father, I can totally emphasize with your plight. If you were like my wife, you have to deal with lower back problems and swollen feet as well as the general feeling of tiredness even if you just got out of bed. In fact, my wife couldn't wait for labor to come simply because she wanted to get it over with. Sound familiar? This hub is going to discuss steps you can take to bring on labor naturally AND make your labor less intensive.

So, what starts the labor process? The short (and correct) answer is that your labor will begin and start to intensify once your cervix starts to ripen. In layman's terms, this means that your cervix will soften thus allowing the baby to start to move down the birthing canal. So, if your cervix doesn't soften up, your labor won't start. Here are some things that will help your cervix soften.

Sex is probably the number one thing you could do to get your cervix to soften. My wife didn't want to do anything (if this is the case, I have another option for you). So why does sex work so well? It is all in the semen. Actually, let me rephrase that...it is what is in the semen; prostaglandin.

Prostaglandin is nature's solution to getting the cervix to soften and bring on labor. And as far as prostaglandin goes, there is nothing more rich with the stuff than semen.

Don't feel like sex? Try Evening Primrose Pills. Evening Primrose pills have prostaglandin in them as well. The good news is you can start taking them early in your third tri-mester all the way up until you deliver. As your pregnancy starts to reach term, you can actually insert the pills into your vagina to help spur on labor. Evening Primrose has also been known to create a less intense labor.

Finally, I am going to tell you a secret that most mid-wives know about....castor oil. Now, before you go off to purchase castor oil, understand that it is god awful to the taste and may make you sick just drinking it. But it works. Castor oil causes spasms in the intestinal walls which in turn stimulates the uterus to contract. If your cervix is soft enough, you will begin labor. There is one downside to castor oil. You will have to go to the bathroom within a couple hours of drinking it and it won't be nice.

There you have it. Three ways to induce labor naturally. If you are pregnant and worried that your pregnancy will last forever, you can try each of these to help bring on labor and (as my wife said) get it over with.  By the way, I suggest you try the first one first.