The state of South Dakota's child: 2013

In 2012, South Dakota experienced a 2.1 percent increase in births over the previous year. Despite an overall decrease in low birth weight, in 2012, the South Dakota infant mortality rate (8.6) surpassed its rate for the past 12 years with a 30 percent increase over its mean rate for the previous three years. The neonatal rate of death in the first 27 days of life for 2012 increased 38 percent and the postneonatal rate increased 13 percent over of previous three-year mean rates. An increase in mortality among newborns with birth weights of 500 to 999 grams and deaths due to congenital anomalies contributed to the 2012 spike in infant deaths. Overall, the 2012 rate of infant deaths for minorities was 2.3 times higher than for whites.