Shifting Social Support: Mexican-American Women’s Navigation of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Periods During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum experiences of Mexican-American women living at the U.S.–Mexico border, with an emphasis on participants’ perceptions of different forms of social support: material, emotional, and informational. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 22 Mexican-American women in Laredo, Texas, we show how pandemic-related changes reduced participants’ extensive social support networks to their immediate family members, with male partners frequently expected to make up for the loss of other relational support. These shifts in social support entrenched gendered caregiving roles and placed additional burdens on the women in this study postpartum. Furthermore, changes in healthcare protocols and access to critical healthcare information altered participants’ sense of preparedness and agency with regard to the birthing process and breastfeeding. Altogether, our study contributes novel insights into how Mexican-American women at the U.S.–Mexico border experienced the compounded loss of social support during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum periods in the context of COVID-19, which may lead to negative long-term health consequences among this population.