Objective: To understand the perceptions of living with HIV / AIDS face impossibility of breastfeeding.Method: This is a descriptive, exploratory qualitative study conducted in a Day Hospital, reference the state of Santa Catarina in 2012.The sampling technique used was the semi-structured interview as open Minayo 1 .Results: The study subjects showed predominant age group was between 27-38 years.The experience of not breastfeeding was for women experience painful and emotionally draining, and created a way to satisfy the idealized symbolic breastfeeding by them during the act of breastfeeding, replacing the physiological significance of breastfeeding.Conclusion: Thus, the nurse needs beyond compliance with protocols regarding the inhibition of lactation, understand and encourage breastfeeding symbolic, created by women, in addition to the biological, the emotional, social and cultural conditions that surround the woman.Descriptors: