The Alaska Maternal and Child Death Review (MCDR) is a committee created through state law to focus on investigating deaths of Alaskan residents that occur during or shortly after pregnancy, as well as the deaths of infants and children. The committee works to understand the causes of these deaths and aims to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Our volunteers come from various professions, including doctors, nurses, law enforcement, social workers, tribal partners, and community advocates. They review cases and develop prevention recommendations, which are then shared with the community to help reduce future deaths.
RESOURCES:
Who We Are
What We Do
The MCDR is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths among infants, children, and mothers in Alaska by identifying the causes behind these tragic events. We achieve this through our committee's review process.
Our key objectives include:
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Collecting and summarizing data to identify patterns of preventable deaths
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Analyzing data to gain deeper insights
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Providing information that can be used to improve public health programs, systems, and laws
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Educating health care workers and the public on things they can do to keep Alaskan families healthy and safe
In 2025 MCDR created two sub-committees - one that focuses on reviewing maternal cases and the other that reviews infant cases. MCDR held open recruitment for the committee in 2025 and currently each sub-committee has about 20 members. MCDR is not currently recruiting but if you would like to be notified about future recruitments, please join our MCDR Listserv or email mcdr@alaska.gov.
AHHA supports the maternal sub-committee by having a representative who serves on the MCDR advisory committee and attends maternal review meetings. The advisory team meets to provide feedback and guidance for the MCDR staff and works to find ways to distribute recommendations. ANTHC also works closely with the Alaska MCDR team and has a representative on the advisory team.
MCDR and the Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PCQ) hold a joint summit annually typically around March/April to share an annual report including the number of cases reviewed and recommendations. The Summit is a great time to connect with other professionals around Alaska and learn about topics related to Maternal & Child Health.