CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that South Carolina has made progress in reducing the infant death rate in the state.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported (https://bit.ly/2n9vST8) that the infant mortality rate in South Carolina dropped nearly 21 percent between 2005 and 2014.
The leading cause of infant death was birth defects, some condition that was present before birth.
The CDC report does not include the latest figures from 2015, which shows the infant death rate rose slightly in South Carolina.
In 2015, 405 infants in South Carolina died in their first 12 months of life. The infant mortality rate for the state was 7 deaths per 1,000 live births. That was up from an average 6.5 deaths per 1,000 in 2014.
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