[Social support network evolution after the birth of their first baby: comparison between lower and middle class mothers].

The social support networks of a group of low socio-economic status (S.E.S.) mothers (n = 87) and a group of higher S.E.S. mothers (n = 44) are described and compared at the 30th week of pregnancy and at the third week after the birth of their first baby. The evolution of the support networks for these two groups of mothers during this period is also examined. A modified form of the ASSIS from Barrera has been used to measure the social support network. Results show that, during pregnancy, the social support network of low-S.E.S. mothers is more restricted than that of higher S.E.S. mothers. Although the actual number of people around them after the birth of the baby did not increase, low-S.E.S. mothers said they felt a slight increase in the number of people available to give support in some way. They also reported that conflicts were more frequent with some of them. For higher S.E.S. mothers, all social network variables remained stable from pregnancy through the first postpartum month.