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South Carolinians may think twice before starting a family.

Two recent WalletHub studies ranked our state poorly when it comes to having a baby and raising a family.

The online research group’s first study examined cost, health care, baby friendliness and family friendliness to get an overall score.

SC ranked third from last overall, finishing only ahead of Alabama and Mississippi.

Thank goodness for Alabama and Mississippi.

Our state did better in the “cost” of having a baby category.

WalletHub considered hospital cesarean-delivery charges, conventional delivery charges, average health insurance premiums and other related costs.

It ranked SC third best for lowest average annual infant-care costs.

“Costs can vary with a number of factors including what type of health insurance the mom has, the length of the hospital stay, a c-section delivery, etc.” Lexington Medical Center spokesperson Jennifer Wilson told the Chronicle.

“There are a lot of variables,” Wilson said, so it’s difficult to get an estimate on average delivery costs in our area.

In a second study to determine the best and worst states to raise a family, WalletHub ranked SC 44th overall.

They considered family fun, health and safety, education and childcare, affordability and socioeconomics.

The studies don’t paint a very encouraging picture for those considering starting a family. But on the bright side, SC did rank 3rd best for lowest child care costs and 24th in the “family fun” category.

The study did not rank the state’s 46 counties.

Despite Lexington County’s low unemployment and cost of living, excellent schools and high quality of life, that apparently wasn’t enough to lift the state’s ranking in some categories.