How did jocasta try to avoid his prophecy?

Laius, the king of Thebes, received a prophecy from the oracle at Delphi that he would be killed by his own son. In an attempt to avoid this fate, Laius ordered his wife, Jocasta, to kill their infant son, Oedipus. Jocasta was unable to bring herself to do this, however, and instead gave the baby to a shepherd to expose on a mountainside. The shepherd took pity on the baby and instead gave him to a childless couple, who raised him as their own. Oedipus grew up to become a strong and handsome young man, and eventually traveled to Thebes, where he inadvertently fulfilled the prophecy by killing Laius.