Objetive: to describe the knowledge, attitudes and practices that HIV poitive pregnant women and mothers of children under one year of age regarding their self-care and the care of their children at the San José Teaching Hospital and the integrated Specialized Health Services of the City of Popayán, in teh year 2009. Materials and Methods: qualitative ethnographic focused study. The participants were six HIV seropositive women (confirmed by Western Blot) with one child under one year of age. After obtaining informed consent, the information was collected through a personal in-depth interview and field diaries. Results: three categories (knowledge, attitudes and practices) were established from the Etic perspective; and from the Emic, we defined the following subcategories: the concept of HIV, modes of transmission, feelings, socialization, care and bonding. Stable relationships, trust and faithfulness give the impression of immunity to infection, which facilitates the denial of risk, and these women contracted the virus from their only partner. Motherhood generates physical and psychological responses aimed at meeting the needs of the new being, while environmental stimuli might break the balance and change the previous lifestyle. The fear to establish or renew relationships and the social isolation impair the ability to relate to meaningful others who can facilitate the processes of adaptation and care. Conclusions: the lack of knowledge about HIV was the most negative stimulus for participants, and hampered the process of coping and adaptation to the infection. The HIV seropisitivity diagnosis left them facing changes involving their personal support networks, family and social milieu, which affected their life expectations, overshadowed by changes in their health and by the stress associated with the stigma of the HIV status.