Austin Regional Clinic is reshuffling where it delivers babies in Northwest Austin, telling patients a big change is coming this fall. Prenatal and delivery care is set to move away from the ARC clinic inside the Seton Northwest health plaza, with labor-and-delivery services shifting to other ARC practices and partner hospitals, while routine gynecology will continue in other settings.
ARC told KVUE that it will halt obstetrics services at its Seton Northwest location near U.S. 183 and Braker Lane effective Oct. 1, 2026, and that affected patients have been notified. The clinic says its OB-GYN physicians will be reassigned to other ARC sites, while gynecology-only providers will keep performing surgeries at hospitals and surgery centers.
Ascension Says Hospital Will Still Handle Deliveries
Ascension says the Seton Northwest hospital will stay ready to handle deliveries that arrive through its emergency department and will continue providing gynecological services. Ascension Seton Northwest also points to more capacity in the pipeline: the system plans to open the Ascension Seton Women’s Hospital on the Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin campus in spring 2026. Ascension says that the new facility will offer Level IV maternal care and a dedicated NICU.
Where ARC Patients Will Deliver
ARC and local hospital listings indicate that patients moved from the Seton Northwest clinic can receive maternal and women’s care at Ascension locations in Cedar Park and at the 38th Street campus in Austin. ARC provider pages show several OB-GYNs at ARC Medical Plaza Specialty are credentialed to deliver at Ascension Seton Cedar Park, while ARC South Ob/Gyn clinicians typically handle labor and delivery at St. David's South. Austin Regional Clinic and St. David's HealthCare list the hospitals where clinicians hold privileges, giving patients a roadmap for where their doctors are likely to be delivering.
Why This Matters
The shuffle lands in the middle of a broader OB-GYN crunch in Texas, where workforce reports and surveys warn of mounting staffing pressures and the risk of fewer practicing obstetricians in the coming years. Reporting by The Texas Tribune highlights survey findings that many OB-GYNs have considered leaving the state and that some counties already have no maternity providers at all.
What Patients Should Do
ARC says affected patients will receive direct notices and should reach out to their care team to go over options and transfer plans. For help, the clinic lists customer service at 512-272-4636 and the Seton Northwest clinic at 512-338-8181. More information is available from Austin Regional Clinic.
The changes are slated to take effect Oct. 1, 2026, while Ascension's dedicated women’s hospital is scheduled to open this spring. Hospital and clinic leaders say the reconfiguration is meant to concentrate delivery resources while keeping gynecologic and surgical care available across the system.
