Salient Components of Personal Capital among Low Socioeconomic Status Pregnant Women: Findings from a Qualitative Pilot Study

Objective: To explore salient components of personal capital among low-SES women. Personal capital was conceptualized as protective resources that may help reduce women’s stress, thereby improving MCH outcomes.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 31 currently or recently pregnant women at a Midwestern prenatal clinic. Most participants were White, employed, publicly insured, and had completed at least high-school. We discussed life and pregnancy-related stressors and available resources to help reduce stress.  Content and thematic analyses aimed to identify salient personal capital resources that potentially foster positive health outcomes and document key differences and similarities in the description of resources among women from various SES levels.

Results:  The following salient resources emerged as helping women cope with stress: (1) Partners and families (particularly mothers) providing emotional and instrumental support as well as “alone time”; (2) Informational support from neighbors, community organizations, and healthcare providers; and (3) Internal strengths, including ability to “problem-solve” or “see the big picture”, empathy, spirituality and engaging in healthy stress-relieving behaviors. Though women from all SES levels cited these resources as important, low-SES women tended to emphasize significant barriers to seeking informal support, including lack of availability/accessibility, concerns about “being judged”, and negative past experiences.

Conclusions: Personal capital may be conceptualized as internal strengths and social resources, at interpersonal and community levels, that help women reduce stress and attain positive MCH outcomes. Further research is needed to explore the socio-psychological barriers to support-seeking among low-SES women and develop valid personal capital measures for use among vulnerable populations.