(KLFY)- As the Delta variant incites a new wave of COVID infections, hospitals are experiencing a rise in the number of pregnant women hospitalized, a group doctors says they hadn’t seen in previous surges.

“We are seeing healthy, young women who are getting very sick in the ICU,” Dr. Martin explains.

Dr. Martin, a maternal fetal medicine fellow with Ochsner Health System says vaccinations are playing a pivotal role in preventing pregnant women from getting infected, adding that the majority of COVID hospitalizations are unvaccinated patients.

“A disease of the unvaccinated is affecting pregnant women, her fetus, her newborn, and her family at home,” Martin says.

In December, she made the decision to get a COVID-19 vaccine while several months pregnant.

Dr. Martin adds, “We have great data that shows that the COVID vaccine does not increase the risk of infertility, of miscarriages, or any bad pregnancy outcomes.”

She says received her first dose at 34 weeks pregnant, her second dose at 37 weeks pregnant, one week before giving birth to a healthy baby girl.

“The decision for me was an easy one. I was around COVID and the benefits out weighted the risk,” continues Martin.

She outlines the benefits of a vaccine and encourages expecting mothers to have open conversations with their OB-GYN.

Dr. Martin says, “Most of time when pregnant women are vaccinated they can pass antibodies onto the baby through placenta and breast milk.”