Cristina Umaña Opens Up About Pregnancy Loss and Subsequent Battle with Depression
Colombian actress Cristina Umaña, recognized for her decades-long career in both Latin American television and international streaming productions, recently shared a deeply personal story of navigating a miscarriage and the resulting depression during a vulnerable period in her relationship. The acclaimed actress detailed her experience on the podcast Menopausal and what! hosted by Yolanda Ruiz and Maria Elvira Samper, offering a candid look at the emotional and physical toll of pregnancy loss.
Umaña’s career spans over three decades, with prominent roles in beloved Colombian soap operas like I Love Paquita Gallego and The President’s Wife. This foundation propelled her into international acclaim with appearances in series such as Cappadocia (HBO), Narcos (Netflix), and News of a Kidnapping (Prime Video). In May 2025, she will continue her leadership role as president of the Colombian Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, a position she has held since its inception.
The actress’s personal life has also been marked by significant transitions. She was first married to musician and activist César López, and later entered a long-term relationship with businessman Lucas Jaramillo, with whom she shares her son, Baltazar Jaramillo Umaña, born in 2011. The couple separated in 2018 but maintained amicable relations, a dynamic complicated when Jaramillo began a relationship with Umaña’s first cousin, Carolina Acevedo.
However, before Baltazar’s birth, Umaña experienced a heartbreaking loss. She revealed on the podcast that she suffered a spontaneous abortion during a period of strain in her relationship with Jaramillo. “When I got pregnant, I was not in a good moment with my partner,” Umaña confessed. Initially, the pregnancy offered a glimmer of hope, as both partners desired a child. “We both wanted to have a child, so it was like: ‘Ah! Wonderful’. And then it was the thing of ‘We’re going to have a child!’” she recalled.
This joy was tragically short-lived. The miscarriage occurred around six to eight weeks into the pregnancy. While Umaña attempted to process the loss philosophically, her body responded in a profoundly different way. She described experiencing a debilitating depression that she initially struggled to understand.
“What it did give me was a depression that I didn’t understand,” Umaña explained. “I mean, it was physical and chemical, but I didn’t understand, because when you have a loss, you get postpartum depression. It is the body that feels that the baby has already come out, right? I mean, it’s like what hormones assume… I was in a depression that I did not understand what was happening to me, a deep sadness, something that I was not even able to get out of bed.”
Seeking help, Umaña consulted specialists and ultimately found relief through acupuncture treatments. “I felt very strange, that nothing made sense, that I didn’t know anything, that everything hurt. And she there too, between needles and things and water and everything, fit me,” she said, describing the experience.
After overcoming this difficult period, Umaña became pregnant with Baltazar three months later, a pregnancy she described as reaffirming her desire to be a mother. Remarkably, her subsequent pregnancy coincided with filming the series Cappadocia. Umaña shared that HBO was incredibly supportive, providing accommodations to ensure her well-being throughout the production. “I called HBO and told them: ‘I’m pregnant’. And well, everyone was like: ‘Nothing’s wrong, here we pamper you, we pamper you with everything.’ And there I went to Cartagena. I only spent my time eating seafood casseroles. They put a bed for me next to the set,” she recounted.
Umaña’s openness about her experience serves as a powerful reminder of the often-silent struggles surrounding pregnancy loss and the importance of seeking support during times of emotional and physical vulnerability.
