Mexican immigration to the United States is an intragenerational phenomenon. Young adult Mexicans leave their families of origin in search of employment opportunities that pull them to new destination communities. A conceptual framework that defines and relates the concepts of human capital, personal networks, social capital, and resources is introduced. The influence of social capital on the capacity of immigrants to access resources is described. The framework informed the design of a study to examine the approaches used by Mexican immigrant women to access resources for healthy childbearing in the absence of traditional family support systems in a new destination community. © 2010, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.

Women's health Human capital Community health new destination communities Childbearing maternal/child ethnonursing Mexican immigrant Ethnography Social capital

cultural anthropology Models, Nursing demography Nebraska human statistics social support ethnology Mexico Hispanic Americans Residence Characteristics knowledge United States Humans Hispanic model Emigrants and Immigrants female pregnancy women's health Article migration Emigration and Immigration Anthropology, Cultural concept formation