Introduction:

As it happens worldwide, in Colombia, congenital malformations are important causes of child mortality, chronic disease and disabilities. Given that indigenous populations in Colombia do not count with specific research about this topic, this work is developed in an indigenous area.

Objective:

To characterize congenital abnormalities in Embera-Chamí indigenous people who live in the reservations of Riosucio, Caldas, between 2007 and 2012.

Method:

Descriptive and retrospective study applied on 125 newborns who had congenital malformations. We used the specialized format from Colombia's National Health Institute and we used SPSS to analyze the variables.

Results:

Out of 3.382 births, a 3.7% (125) had congenital malformations. We associated the age of the mother with the presence of said malformations. 87.2% of cases had term gestational age. Most frequent malformations were: hip dysplasia, cryptorchidism, cardiovascular malformations, clubfoot and hydrocephaly.

Conclusions:

There is a higher incidence of congenital malformations in the Embera-Chamí people, compared to the average of general population in Colombia.

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