DHEC: SC infant mortality lowest in decades

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Public health officials say South Carolina’s infant mortality rate is at its lowest point in decades.

Department of Health and Environmental Control director Catherine Templeton said Wednesday that the state’s rate of babies dying before their first birthday in 2013 was 6.9 deaths per 1,000 babies born.

That’s down from 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 2012. Templeton says the latest numbers represent a 25 percent decrease from 2005, when infant mortality in the state was 9.5 percent.

Officials also said the disparity between white and black infant mortality has also been steadily shrinking over the past decade.

Templeton and other health officials attributed the improvements to the development of partnerships providing expectant mothers with better preventative care and education about how to take the best care of their babies.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP