Women's Health Frequently Asked Questions

We take a multidisciplinary approach to your care, meaning you will benefit from the expertise of multiple specialists across a variety of disciplines. This multidisciplinary care model allows us to deliver a coordinated, whole-woman approach to care. Our goal is to provide comprehensive care designed to meet your specific needs.

Patients are cared for by a dedicated multidisciplinary care team, meaning you will benefit from the expertise of multiple specialists across a variety of disciplines. Our team of board-certified obstetricians and gynecologists, fellowship-trained subspecialists, pelvic floor physical therapists, advanced practice providers, and more work together to provide unparalleled care for patients every step of the way. We also work closely with referring physicians and other partners in the community to schedule and coordinate any additional care services you may need.

Women’s Health is dedicated to providing comprehensive, specialized care for women at every stage of their lives. We offer the full scope of Women’s Health services. Obstetrics and Gynecology services are available to provide routine wellness, preventative care, and more, and if a higher level of care is needed to treat your condition, we offer access to Maternal-Fetal Medicine (high-risk obstetrical care), Gynecologic Oncology, Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy, and Urogynecology services. We also provide Comprehensive Fetal Care and Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology services through a clinical partnership between Dell Children's Medical Center and UT Health Austin.

We collaborate with our colleagues at the Dell Medical School and The University of Texas at Austin to utilize the latest research, diagnostic, and treatment techniques, allowing us to deliver specialized procedures and offer personalized treatment options with a focus on increasing your overall quality of life.

The Women’s Health care team includes board-certified obstetricians and gynecologists, fellowship-trained subspecialists, pelvic floor physical therapists, advanced practice providers, and more who work together to provide unparalleled care for patients every step of the way. We also work closely with referring physicians and other partners in the community to schedule and coordinate any additional care services you may need.

Women’s Health is dedicated to providing comprehensive, specialized care for women at every stage of their lives. This includes access to routine obstetrical and gynecologic care, maternal-fetal medicine (high-risk obstetrical care), pelvic floor physical therapy, and subspecialty gynecologic services, including minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, gynecologic oncology, and urogynecology.

A list of conditions treated across Women’s Health can be found here.

Women’s Health is dedicated to providing comprehensive, specialized care for women at every stage of their lives. This includes access to routine obstetrical and gynecologic care, maternal-fetal medicine (high-risk obstetrical care), pelvic floor physical therapy, and subspecialty gynecologic services, including minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, gynecologic oncology, and urogynecology.

A list of procedures performed across Women’s Health can be found here.

Women’s Health is comprised of high specialized clinicians who are experienced in providing services needed to treat a variety of women's health conditions. Depending on your needs, a team is built around you to ensure you receive the most personalized care.

A list of services offered across Women’s Health can be found here.

To transfer your care to one of our providers, please contact the clinic directly to schedule your visit. Some of our clinics may ask for access to your medical records prior to your visit. Access to these records allows our team to prepare for your visit. Prior to sending your records, your current provider may require a signed release of information form.

To view all appointment locations and phone numbers, visit here.

If you believe you are pregnant, you will want to make an appointment with one of our board-certified obstetricians at a location most convenient for you. At the time of scheduling, you will be asked for the first day of your last known menstrual period to help determine the appropriate time to schedule your initial visit.

To view all appointment locations and phone numbers, visit here.

The number of recommended scheduled appointments vary based on your pregnancy. Many women will attend an initial visit during which their medical history will be reviewed, a physical exam and routine labs will be performed, and the baby’s due date will be confirmed. Following the initial visit, appointments are typically scheduled every 4 weeks during the first and second trimesters and every 2 weeks during early part of the third trimester. At 36 weeks, appointments are scheduled weekly until delivery occurs. However, the frequency of these appointments is tailored to the specific needs of the mother and based on the health of the mother and the baby.

Throughout the duration of your pregnancy, your care team will include a board-certified obstetrician, maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and in some situations, an advanced practice provider. You care team works together to provide you and your baby comprehensive, prenatal care.

Should a higher level of prenatal care be needed, your obstetrician may refer you to one of our maternal-fetal medicine specialists for additional visits.

Pregnancies can become high-risk when mothers have certain medical conditions, experience preterm labor, or placental abnormalities occur. In such cases, Maternal-Fetal Medicine services are available to diagnose, treat, and manage the care of expecting mothers with complex and high-risk pregnancies.

Pregnancies can also be considered high-risk when it is the baby who is at risk, such as babies in utero suspected to have birth anomalies. In such cases, we work with the Comprehensive Fetal Care Center to ensure you and your baby are receiving the highest level of specialized care before, during, and after delivery.

Women may require Maternal-Fetal Medicine care during pregnancy if they have existing medical conditions outside of pregnancy, experience new complications during pregnancy, or have a history of complications in a prior pregnancy. Throughout your pregnancy, our maternal-fetal medicine specialists monitor your and your baby’s health to detect any potential problems as quickly as possible so that treatment can begin immediately. Consultations and co-management options are also available so that you can continue your routine prenatal care with your chosen obstetrician whenever possible. Our maternal-fetal medicine specialists work with your obstetrician to provide ongoing supportive care to ensure a safe and healthy delivery.

If your baby is diagnosed with a fetal abnormality, we work with the Comprehensive Fetal Care Center to ensure you and your baby are receiving the highest level of specialized care before, during, and after delivery.

Our primary location for maternity services is Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin, which has earned a maternal level IV designation—the highest designation possible—for its ability to care for obstetric complications. Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin is equipped to provide labor and delivery services for expectant mothers with medical complications, such as severe hypertension or severe diabetes, and offers the comprehensive subspecialty services necessary to take care of the most complex maternal conditions. Additionally, the Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin Level III NICU is located on-site and a team of pediatric specialists are available to provide care to infants immediately following birth. Our Level III NICU designation means our team of pediatric specialists are available to provide care to infants immediately following birth who are born before 32 weeks and weigh less than 1,500 grams, are critically ill, need equipment to help them breathe, or may need surgery.

Ascension Seton offers maternity services at several other locations, including Ascension Seton Williamson, Ascension Seton Northwest, and Ascension Seton Hays. All of these locations have Dell Children’s Level II NICUs on-site. To learn more about these programs or to find a physician who provides delivery services at these locations, visit here.

Healthy mothers with high-risk babies may deliver at Dell Children’s Medical Center's Specialized Delivery Unit (SDU) as patients of the Comprehensive Fetal Care Center, where babies have access to the pediatric specialists involved in their care immediately following birth. Special delivery services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that for the first time in the greater Austin area, a mother is able to deliver and recover in the same hospital where her newborn will receive the specialty care they need soon after birth. Additionally, the Dell Children’s Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is located on-site, which has earned the highest designation possible for its ability to care for the most complex and critically ill infant of all gestational ages.

Electing to seek care through Women’s Health, a clinical partnership between Ascension Seton and UT Health Austin, you have access to a care network with the highest level of maternal and fetal care in the region. If unexpected complications arise, our transport programs facilitate a streamlined transition to ensure the right care is available at the right time.

If you need a higher level of care at the time of delivery than the current hospital location can offer, Ascension Seton’s Maternal Transport Team is dedicated to providing prompt and efficient transport for high-risk obstetrical patients. Our 24/7 High-Risk OB hotline connects your provider with our maternal-fetal medicine specialists. Our group of specially trained maternal transport registered nurses are deployed by ambulance, helicopter, or fixed-wing aircraft in which they can work in a mobile intensive care environment.

If your baby needs more care than the birthing location NICU can offer, the Dell Children’s Medical Center NICU Transport Team will manage the safe transfer of your baby to an appropriate facility. Dell Children’s has a dedicated neonatal transport team responsible for transporting these critically ill babies directly to a higher level of care—whether by land or air. Led by a neonatologist, the NICU transport team consists of experienced neonatal nurses and respiratory therapists who are specially trained in advanced neonatal life support and have advanced airway skills. If your child should need so, the team is capable of turning the ambulance, helicopter, or airplane into a mobile neonatal intensive care unit. The transport team is available 365 days a year.

Regardless of where you deliver, we will ensure you have access to the highest level of care possible.

Our Level III NICU designation at Ascension Seton Medical Center means our team of pediatric specialists are available to provide care to infants immediately following birth who are born before 32 weeks and weigh less than 1,500 grams, are critically ill, need equipment to help them breathe, or may need surgery. If a higher level of care is required, the Dell Children’s Medical Center NICU Transport Team will manage the safe transfer of your baby to an appropriate facility.

If your delivery takes place at Dell Children’s Medical Center, your baby will be admitted to the Dell Children’s Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which has earned the highest designation possible for its ability to care for the most complex and critically ill infant of all gestational ages.

Babies born with congenital heart diseases and defects will be admitted to the Pediatric Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) at Dell Children’s. The Pediatric CCU is a 24-bed inpatient unit that is dedicated to delivering highly specialized, whole-person care to infants, children, adolescents, and adults diagnosed with congenital or acquired heart conditions.

Maternal-fetal medicine specialists are highly specialized obstetrician-gynecologists who have completed an additional three years of training to become experts in high-risk pregnancies.

Women may require Maternal-Fetal Medicine care during pregnancy if they have existing medical conditions outside of pregnancy, experience new complications during pregnancy, or have a history of complications in a prior pregnancy. Maternal-fetal medicine specialists are available to diagnose, treat, and manage the care of expecting mothers with complex and high-risk pregnancies. Throughout your pregnancy, maternal-fetal medicine specialists monitor your and your baby’s health to detect any potential problems as quickly as possible so that treatment can begin immediately. Consultations and co-management options are also available so that you can continue your routine prenatal care with your chosen obstetrician whenever possible. Our maternal-fetal medicine specialists work with your obstetrician to provide ongoing supportive care to ensure a safe and healthy delivery.

If you are experiencing an urgent issue related to your pregnancy after hours, please call your obstetrician using their after-hours number.

If you believe you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, please proceed to the nearest emergency room or call 9-1-1.

We offer a diabetes management program that provides education on how diabetes may affect your pregnancy. This program is intended to help you develop healthy habits during your pregnancy that will continue beyond your delivery. In addition to diabetes education, our maternal-fetal medicine care team also provides expert fetal evaluation of your baby’s growth, development, and overall well-being by performing regular ultrasounds. We monitor for complications related to diabetes, such as high blood pressure (preeclampsia) and excess fetal growth (macrosomia).