Labor and delivery hospitals in South Carolina do not rate well. Unfortunately, in a WalletHub list of “Best and Worst States to Have a Baby in 2022”, South Carolina has ranked one of the worst. SC also ranked near the bottom in the 2021 list (Best and Worst States to Have a Baby).
Where Does SC Rank for Labor and Delivery Hospitals?
In a list of all fifty states and the District of Columbia, South Carolina ranks 49th out of 51– only Mississippi and Alabama are worse. South Carolina’s labor and delivery hospitals also ranked 49th in 2021, which implies that there hasn’t been any improvement in this area. When ranking the states and the District of Columbia, WalletHub looked at four major categories:
- Cost – SC ranked 46th
- Health care – SC ranked 47th
- Baby-friendliness – SC ranked 47th
- Family-friendliness – SC ranked 49th
Each category has specific subcategories to make judgements more concrete, such as average cost of conventional-delivery charges, infant mortality rate, and child-care centers per capita. Each metric was scored 1 to 100, with number 100 providing the best care when it came to expectant mothers and newborn children. South Carolina scored consistently low in the four main categories.
Average Cost of Giving Birth
Childbirth can be very expensive, especially if there are any complications. The cost of having a child in a hospital also varies depending on whether the parent has insurance or not. In South Carolina, the average cost of labor and delivery without insurance is $17,684 as of 2020 (Cost of Giving Birth in US). However, the initial costs of having a baby aren’t the only things parents should worry about when it comes to raising a family. Access to healthcare, infant-care costs, and finding a pediatrician are also important to consider when choosing where to have a child.
Where Do Other Labor and Delivery Hospitals Rank?
South Carolina wasn’t the only southern state to do poorly on this list. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the US consists of 16 states, making it the largest region in the US (South Region). The 16 states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Of the 16 states in the southern region, only the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia were in the top half of the rankings.
The northeast region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This region had the best scores out of the remaining four regions in the US. All the states, with the exception of Pennsylvania were in the top 15. Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island were the top 3.
Fertility Rate
From 2010 to 2020, the fertility rate in South Carolina has gone from 62.8 percent to 55.9 percent– an almost 7 percent decrease (Fertility Rate in SC). If the population is to grow and for people to feel safe having children in this state, there must be improvements made in this area of the healthcare industry. If not, the birth rate may continue to dwindle, leading to a decline in population and other complications.
Contact The Law Offices of David L. Hood for a Free Birth Trauma Consult
If you or someone you care about has suffered because of medical negligence, please schedule your free consultation by calling the Law Offices of David L. Hood at (843) 491-6025 or filling out our brief online contact form.
We know how difficult it can be to deal with the immediate and long-term effects of a serious birth injury. At The Law Offices of David L. Hood, we work hard to make things simple for you. After a free case evaluation, if we believe we can help you and your family, Birth Injury Lawyer David L. Hood, co-counsel, and our team of experts will vigorously pursue your case to get you the best result we can achieve. Let us put our years of experience to work for you!
