Memorial Hermann Pearland Hospital will stop offering labor and delivery services. Starting Nov. 1, labor and delivery will be offered solely at Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital.

The transition will allow the Pearland hospital to focus more heavily on its growing services, including spinal surgery, urology, orthopedics and sports medicine, said Kyle Price, CEO of the Pearland and Southeast campuses.

"It has allowed us to gain capacity in those growing services, and that was really the driver behind it," he said.

The decision came when Memorial Hermann saw that labor and delivery services were being utilized more at the Southeast campus, which has been offering labor and delivery for over 30 years, Price said. While Pearland saw a growth in labor and delivery, it did not offer certain options, such as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which the Southeast campus does. The NICU is an appealing feature, especially as more women are opting to have children later in life, Price said.

Despite the growing number of deliveries at the Pearland Hospital which it will no longer accommodate, the Southeast Hospital will not need to add beds to take on that demand.

"About a year and a half ago, we did an expansion and renovation at Southeast just due to the growth at that hospital, so it is well-positioned to receive the growth [from] Pearland as well," Price said.

While the Pearland hospital will no longer be offering labor and delivery, it will still be equipped to handle an emergency birthing situation. Also, women will still be able to receive obstetrics and gynecology and prenatal care at the Pearland Hospital campus.