Inequities in Child Loss: Ethnicity and Maternal Bereavement in Colombia

Background: The death of a loved one increases the mortality risk of the bereaved, a phenomenon popularly known as "dying of a broken heart". Demographic changes, particularly those related to child survival, have altered the age at which parents, especially women, experience child loss over their lifetimes. This study investigates how these changes have affected White-Mestizo, Indigenous, and Afro-descendant women in Colombian society. Methods: We analysed births from the 2017 Colombian Vital Statistics and deaths from the national Census. We modelled child survival and death frequency using the matrix formulation of kinship network estimation. This framework considers kin for each sex and ethnic group within age-classified populations, with time-invariant rates (fixed mortality and fertility schedules). Results: Three distinct offspring mortality patterns were identified. White-Mestizo women show the lowest probabilities of experiencing child loss, followed by Afro-descendant women, with Indigenous women presenting the highest probabilities. An Indigenous woman has, on average, 2.6 living children at the age of 45; but by the age of 90 this number declines to two. Afro-descendant women have a higher number of living children at age 45 (2.2) than White–Mestizo women (1.9). By age 90, however, both groups have the same average number of surviving children (1.7). This indicates that Afro-descendant women experience greater cumulative child loss throughout their lives. Conclusions: Marked ethnic differences in maternal bereavement reflect profound social inequalities, mirroring disparities typically observed between high- and low-income countries. Contribution: This is the first national study to analyse maternal bereavement by ethnicity in Colombia, providing evidence to inform targeted interventions that address persistent health inequalities in marginalised populations.