Bear Down

by Lucy S.

I am not sure if anyone knows what they are doing when they tell you to hold back when you feel the overwhelming need to push. Holding back is agony. Yes, we are fragile, and there are moments to shake all over, to wait, to not tear - but we are also strong and resilient. Push with your body, not against it. Bear down for the continuation of life, the living release flowing torrentially through hands, fingers, eyes, mind, body. 




Bear down:
Overcome, overwhelm.
To exert full strength and concentrated attention.
Emphasize.
To weigh heavily on.
To contract the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm during childbirth.

Bear:
To hold up; support.
To carry from one place to another; transport.
To transmit at large; relate: bearing glad tidings.
To carry (oneself) in a specified way; conduct: She bore herself with dignity.
To be accountable for; assume: bearing heavy responsibilities.
To have a tolerance for; endure: couldn't bear his lying.
To call for; warrant: This case bears investigation.
To give birth to: bore six children in five years.
To produce; yield: plants bearing flowers.
To offer; render: I will bear witness to the deed.
To move by or as if by steady pressure; push: "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (F. Scott Fitzgerald).

To yield fruit; produce: peach trees that bear every summer.
To have relevance; apply: They studied the ways in which the relativity theory bears on the history of science.
To exert pressure, force, or influence.
To force oneself along; forge.
To endure something with tolerance and patience: Bear with me while I explain matters.
To extend or proceed in a specified direction: The road bears to the right at the bottom of the hill.

Bear down:
To apply maximum effort and concentration: If you really bear down, you will finish the task.

Bear:
To hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof.
To hold or remain firm under (a load): The roof will not bear the strain of his weight.
To bring forth (young); give birth to: to bear a child.
To produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit.
To hold up under; be capable of: His claim doesn't bear close examination.

Bear down:
To press or weigh down.
To strive harder; intensify one's efforts: We can't hope to finish unless everyone bears down.
Nautical . to approach from windward, as a ship: The cutter was bearing down the channel at twelve knots.

Bear down on /upon:
To press or weigh down on.
To strive toward.
To approach something rapidly.
To press or weigh down
To approach in a determined or threatening manner
(of a vessel) to make an approach (to another vessel, obstacle, etc) from windward
(of a woman during childbirth) to exert a voluntary muscular pressure to assist delivery

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bear+down; http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear%20down ; http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bear+down ; http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bear-down)