State of South Dakota's Child: 2016.

In 2015, there was an increase in the number of births in South Dakota compared to the previous year. Further, the state's 2014 birth rate (14.4) exceeded the 12.5 rate observed nationally for this year. Similar to national trends, one-quarter of South Dakota newborns represent minority populations. The infant mortality rate of 7.3 for the state in 2015 was 24 percent higher than the 2014 rate. Analyses of factors that contributed to this increase show that twice as many infants died of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) in 2015 as has been observed in previous years. SUID was the cause of 30 percent of the state's infant deaths in 2015 versus 19 percent in 2014. Between 2011 and 2015, the SUID rate has been four times higher for minority than white infants. A discussion of strategies for the prevention of these deaths is presented.