State of South Dakota's child: 1996

The trend of decreasing annual births in South Dakota continued with a decline to 10,470 live births in 1995. The state's infant mortality rate (IMR) of 9.5 per 1,000 live births for 1995 decreased from 9.6 in 1994, but has essentially varied little over the past nine years and is currently higher than the nation's rate of 7.5. Neonatal mortality (zero to 27 days of life) in South Dakota decreased to 5.2 in 1995 from 5.5 in 1994 with the decline attributable to fewer deaths of newborns of color. Nonetheless, similar to 1994 this rate is higher than the provisional national 1995 rate of 4.8. Post neonatal mortality in the state increased in 1995 among both whites and infants of color. An examination of causes of infant deaths in South Dakota shows that the state's rates of infant deaths due to congenital anomalies and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) exceed those noted nationally. The US Public Health Service's "Back to Sleep" campaign, initiated in 1994, is described as a contributor to the recent declining national rate of SIDS and its acceptance is urged as a preventive measure to decrease tragic loss of new life in South Dakota.