Recommendations for renovating an operating theater at an emergency obstetric care facility

The importance of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) in reducing maternal mortality has focused attention on both the skills of the clinicians to provide high quality care and on the health facilities in which the care is provided. Essential elements of EmOC include the capacity to perform cesarean sections for which an operating theater is needed. This article focuses on renovation of existing operating theaters to meet the necessary standards. While building, adding to, or renovating operating theaters can be expensive, this article emphasizes appropriate materials that are likely to be locally available and relatively inexpensive. The importance of proper maintenance is discussed.