SC infant mortality rate jumped 12% in a year, new report says. Here are the rates by county

South Carolina’s infant mortality rate rose by double digits in a single year, a new state report shows.

According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control report, released Wednesday, the state’s infant mortality rate jumped 12% from 2020 to 2021, the most recent data available. And the rate has grown by almost 40% since 2017 for infants born to non-Hispanic Black mothers.

South Carolina had 416 total infant deaths in 2021, the highest amount since 435 were reported in 2012. Also, the number of children who died in 2021 from sudden death infant syndrome, 27, was more than double the 12 reported the previous year.

Meanwhile, Black infants died at a rate nearly 2.5 times that of White infants, the latest data shows.

These were the leading causes of infant deaths in South Carolina in 2021.

• Congenital malformations or birth defects
  
  
• Disorders related to short gestation and low birth rate
  
  
• Causes related to maternal complications of pregnancy
  
  
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
  
  
• Accidents (25 of the 26 die to suffocation or strangulation in bed)
  
  

“As DHEC’s director of Public Health, this increase in the infant mortality rate is alarming and counter to what our year-round prevention efforts aim to impact,” Dr. Brannon Traxler said. “As a mom, my heart aches for those parents who have experienced the unimaginable loss of a child. “DHEC will use this data to help determine the best ways we can work with our partners to improve health outcomes for all mothers and their babies in the years to come.”

SC county infant mortality

Here is a breakdown of infant deaths and rates for counties from 2019 to 2021. The rates are per 1,000 births. Mortality rates for counties with fewer than five deaths were not included in the report.

Improving SC infant health

DHEC and South Carolina’s Title V program continue to partner with organizations like the S.C. Hospital Association, S.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the S.C. Chapter of the March of Dimes, to combat infant mortality, a DHEC press release states. The department is also an active participant of the S.C. Birth Outcomes Initiative to address access to quality maternal, infant and child health services, including preventive and primary care, access to prenatal, delivery and postnatal care to women and regular screenings and follow-up.

For information and resources about improving maternal and infant health, visit:

• the ABCs of Safe Sleep

• newborn screening

• early childhood health

• infant head trauma

• CDC’s Hear Her Campaign

• “Count the Kicks” for improving birth outcomes

• healthy pregnancies

This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 10:54 AM.

Patrick McCreless

The State

803-771-8353

Patrick McCreless is the Southeast service journalism editor for McClatchy, who leads and edits a team of six reporters in South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The team writes about trending news of the day and topics that help readers in their daily lives and better informs them about their communities. He attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama and grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL.