According to a new poll from the United Kingdom, some pregnant smokers are so worried about criticism from healthcare professionals that they won’t ask doctors or midwives for help to stop smoking.

Some women also won’t admit to their doctors that they smoke, the BBC reported Feb. 4.

A survey commissioned by the U.K. National Health Service (NHS) showed that 25 percent of 224 pregnant smokers surveyed said they had not asked for help in curbing their smoking out of fear of criticism. The survey also reported that 40 percent of the subjects had not admitted that they smoked to their midwives or doctors.

“Pregnant women who smoke do not automatically find it easy to stop smoking as soon as they become pregnant,” said Miriam Stoppard, who is leading the NHS’s campaign to encourage pregnant women in England to stop smoking. “Pregnancy can be a particularly difficult time to stop smoking — and rather than stigmatizing these women, we should be guiding them to their local NHS Stop Smoking Service for expert advice and support.” 

This news summary has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction, Feb. 13, 2009
As originally published, this news summary referred to the above findings as a research study. The data came from a government poll.