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This article is an ethnographic look at the importance of control of the female body in contemporary U.S. society. Specifically, this article examines how the idea of 'getting the body back' is significant in the lives of postpartum women. The Authors highlight how pregnancy signifies a state of being out of control, particularly for women involved in the paid labor force, and the struggle to reassert and literally regain particular identities after childbirth is paramount but given less attention. The authors interviewed and observed women in a semiurban area in the Midwest who were pregnant or recently gave birth. They found that for women who already are forced to negotiate boundaries when pregnant, there is a particular imperative to regain ownership of a postpartum body. Drawing upon narratives from these women, this article contributes to discourse on the body and the contradictory messages women receive about the flexibility of identity. Keywords: postpartum; pregnancy; gender; body; identify loss

This investigation examines the interplay between individual‐level social capital, psychological distress, and the effects of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak on a college campus. Data were collected from students at two colleges in early 2021. Hypotheses were formed based on prior research on social capital and the COVID pandemic. A structural equation model was constructed to allow the modeling of both latent and observed variables. The Kessler‐6 measures were used to create a latent psychological distress variable, which was the dependent variable. Predictor variables include whether the student experienced the outbreak, the student's race and gender, and the level of reported individual social capital (having supportive and rewarding relationships). Our findings suggest that the most robust predictor of reduced psychological distress was individual social capital, which also served as an intermediary between the outbreak and distress. Social capital mediates psychological distress in an outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]