Starting next week, babies will no longer be delivered at the Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Carrollton, and the facility's neonatal intensive care unit will close next month.

While obstetrical services will be discontinued, gynecological care — including procedures such as imaging, mammography and hysterectomies — will still be provided at that location.

The 216-bed acute care facility on North Josey Lane has been managed by Baylor since 2009. It serves residents in Carrollton, Lewisville, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound and nearby communities.

As it did when it announced plans to close its Garland hospital, Baylor cited increased local competition as the reason for the change.

Baylor said in a statement that its deliveries at the facility had declined and were now at a third of what they were in 2014.

“With five other hospitals within a 10-mile radius that provide obstetrical care, this service will remain readily accessible for growing families in the area,” the system said in a statement.

The last day of scheduled deliveries will be Jan. 24, and the obstetrics service and neonatal intensive care will effectively end the last day of the month. Baylor says that 46 employees will be affected and that it is working to find placement for them elsewhere in the system.

Metrocrest Hospital Authority, which leases the facility to Baylor, said it was “deeply disappointed and troubled” by the decision.

Baylor invested more than $53 million in capital improvements and has a lease to operate the hospital through 2033, which it signed about a decade ago. “At the time … they committed to making it the ‘best place to give and receive safe, quality compassionate care,'" chief executive Charles Heath said in an email.

“We do not believe the decision to end these services lives up to the commitment Baylor made to the community.”

Baylor said it continuously evaluates how to effectively use its resources effectively in the community.

"We made the difficult decision to discontinue this service line only after extensive discussions with community representatives for more than six months," the statement said.

It's the latest shift for Dallas-based Baylor Scott and White Health, which, under new leadership, has been rolling out a series of strategic changes at its hospitals.

Earlier this month, the system ended a two-year-old partnership in which it jointly operated five North Texas hospitals with Tenet Healthcare. That deal included a Garland hospital on Marie Curie Blvd., which closes Feb. 28 and a White Rock-area hospital on Poppy Drive, which was sold in December. At the same time, Baylor has been expanding its footprint in other areas.

For example, it has plans to construct a $30 million heart hospital in McKinney that will open in 2019 and has launched a more than $120 million project in Irving to build a new tower and renovate the existing facility there.