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Objective: To understand the social representations regarding breastfeeding among women in ru- ral and urban settings in Jalisco (Mexico), between 2016 and 2017., Methods: Qualitative phenomenological study. Women living in rural and urban communities in the XIIth Health Jurisdiction, Tlaquepaque Center, Jalisco (Mexico), identified through key informants, were interviewed in focus groups, audio-recorded and semiotically analyzed until the technical saturation was reached in the following categories: meaning, meaning-generating players, and wishes pertaining to breastfeeding., Results: Six focus groups of 14 women living in rural areas, aged 29.4 ± 7.8 years, and 9 women living in urban areas, aged 27.3 ± 7.1 years. Qualitatively, meanings were identified in the two set- tings and were categorized as myths, breastfeeding techniques, and infant growth and development. The following meaning-generating players were found: healthcare and hospital staff, social network, family, God, and community. In terms of wishes, women described the benefits of breastfeeding for themselves and their infants., Conclusions: There are differences and similarities in social representations regarding breastfeeding depending on the geographic context where they are developed; the elements and players that make them up determine the initiation, maintenance or termination of breastfeeding, and must be considered as part of health promotion and education targeted to women and their environment., Competing Interests: None declared, (Copyright© 2019 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License by-nc-nd/4.0.)

Introduction: Ethnography is understood from three perspectives: approach, methodology and text. In the health field, ethnography can be used not only from the standpoint of the research process, but also from the very instances of medical consultation, diagnose and treatment. The pacient appreciates the fact of being heard and understood as a subject who has her/his own story and is involved in a particular culture related to her/his own status and to the effectsa caused by life experiences., Methods: Analysis of the literature related to ethnography, participanting observation and an relationship between health and qualitative research., Results: There is a diversity of opinions and attitudes about ethnography, its validity and usefulness as well as in considerations related to its method and the techniques that nourish it. Ethnography is an integrative approach that may resorty to multiple tools for collecting, analyzing and interpreting the data. Therefore, ethnography constitutes an option for the physician when performing individual assessment., Conclusions: Ethnography provides an opportunity to approach the reality of an individual or group of individuals in order to obtain information about the matter under investigation, its understanding and interpretation., (Copyright © 2012 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)