Capitals diminished, denied, mustered and deployed. A qualitative longitudinal study of women's four year trajectories after acute health crisis, Burkina Faso

► Qualitative longitudinal research in Burkina Faso followed women for four years after a costly obstetric complication. ► Women's social capital ebbs and flows over time, resulting in a trajectory of multiple adaptations. ► Customary obligation and reciprocity provide some protection but also bring indebtedness and loss of status. ► Mobility is a feature of social life, and temporary self-displacement is used to resolve problems and secure advantage. ► Women's ability to harness bodily capital is key in overcoming adversity and in accessing new social capital.