The news on infant mortality rates across the river could hardly be worse. Babies who die before their first birthday are on the rise in both Aiken County and the state of South Carolina.

Statistics from 2004, the most recent available for analysis, show that there are 9.3 deaths for every 1,000 live births, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control reports. In Aiken County, the death rate is even worse - 11.6 per 1,000 live births, up from 9.6 the previous year.

These stats put the Palmetto State at or near the top in terms of U.S. infant mortality - worse than the national average and consistent with rates in such Third World countries as Chile, Lithuania and Brunei.

Infant mortality rates are, of course, important in their own right - but they also are a harbinger for the health of children as they grow up, from learning disabilities to developmental issues, said DHEC senior consultant, Luanne Miles.

The No. 1 cause of infant deaths in Aiken County, according to Miles, was congenital malformations or deformations. Problems caused by premature births also were high on the list.

The prescription to cut back on infant deaths is widely known. Improve health care during pregnancy and after childbirth. A healthy mother usually gives birth to a healthy baby.

South Carolina has affordable health care insurance and other state-supported medical programs available for pregnant women, but there are several serious problems with them:

First, getting the word out, or reaching out; second, lack of education - many teenage and out-of-wedlock moms don't understand, or are too stressed out, to realize just how important pregnancy care is; and third, getting those who could benefit from care to come in.

Many rural hospitals and clinics are closing because of funding shortages and would-be patients lack the transportation to get to where good medical facilities are located.

These issues point to what is really the No. 1 cause of high infant mortality - poverty. Statistics everywhere show more babies die in poor states and communities than prosperous ones. Health care improves with improving economic conditions. In fact, poor health care is a symptom of poverty.

Although the cities of Aiken and North Augusta make Aiken County one of South Carolina's more prosperous counties, there are large pockets of poverty in rural parts of the county that account for its high infant mortality rate. When the economy improves in those areas, so will the number of babies who reach their first birthday.

This is why the closing of the Avondale Mills plants in Graniteville - throwing hundreds of people out of work - is bad news for health care in the area. Unless work can be found for the newly jobless, expect Aiken County infant mortality rates to continue their upward spiral.

Infant mortality rates make clear the link between economic development and health care. The best cure for health care shortages isn't more government programs, but a stronger economy.