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South Carolina is one of the worst states to have a baby, according to a new study from WalletHub.
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The state ranked 46 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
Massachusetts was ranked first.
The personal finance website looked at 31 metrics covering “affordability, health care accessibility, and baby- and family-friendliness.”
“The analysis includes factors such as hospital conventional-delivery charges, annual average infant-care costs, and the number of pediatricians per capita,” WalletHub said.
“The best states for having a baby minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers,” Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst said. “They also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier.”
SC rankings
South Carolina’s rankings are:
30th – Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges
29th – Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges
46th – Infant Mortality Rate
45th – Rate of Low Birth-Weight
33rd – Midwives & OB-GYNs per Capita
37th – Pediatricians & Family Medicine Physicians per Capita
40th – Child-Care Centers per Capita
38th – Parental-Leave Policy Score
The South Carolina Department of Public Health said in its released in December that the infant mortality rate increased from 2022 to 2023, with 403 deaths during the first year of life. It was 392 in 2022.
“Racial and ethnic disparities persisted in 2023, with infants born to Black women dying at more than twice the rate (11.7) of white women (5.2),” the agency said. “Additionally, the infant mortality rate among births to Hispanic mothers increased for the first time in five years, rising from 4.1 in 2022 to 5.9 in 2023”.
The three leading causes of infant death in 2023 were:
- Disorders related to preterm birth and low birth weight
- Congenital malformations or birth defects
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
WalletHub said the top states for babies after Massachusetts were Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
After South Carolina, the worst states were Nevada, New Mexico, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.
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“Massachusetts is the best state to have a baby, in large part because it has the third-lowest infant mortality rate in the country and the third-lowest maternal mortality rate,” WalletHub said.
Plus, its neonatal hospitals are the best in the country.
Massachusetts has the sixth-lowest share of households with infants or toddlers experiencing food insecurity, and the sixth-highest share of children under three years old with all seven recommended vaccines.
“In addition, parents in Massachusetts benefit from the best leave policies in the nation after the birth of a child,” WalletHub said.
Minnesota has the third-lowest health insurance premiums in the nation, high quality care, and large number of medical professionals.
North Dakota has the lowest costs in the country for a conventional delivery — $9,700 compared to some places that can cost $32,000.
North Dakota also has the second-lowest costs for a conventional birth with complications, and the third-lowest cesarean section costs.
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