Medium rare steak?

[HellaBella0]

I am about 6 weeks pregnant and off out to a meal tonight with friends to a really nice steak restaurant. I would normally go for a medium rare steak but is that ok in pregnancy? I am reading conflicting advice online.

[Thelampshadelady]

My mw has told me not to have anything rare.

[Buxbaum]

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/foods-to-avoid-pregnant/#meat

There is a risk. It is a small one. You need to make a judgement about whether that risk is acceptable to you.

[Twitchett22]

You're not supposed to but i always did, its because if the meat is off and its not cooked properly the bacteria won't be killed. I figured that I've never got food poisoning off red meat in my whole life so just carried on lol

[DwangelaForever]

I'm 5+3 and planning a medium rare steak on Wednesday!

I say planning because when I was pregnant with my first I couldn't eat steak as I could taste the iron in it 🙈

[TeaandHobnobs]

I know the advice is to have it cooked through - but in a steak, the middle of it hasn't been exposed, only the outside. So I'd eat medium rare steak when pregnant - but I wouldn't eat a burger that wasn't fully cooked through.

But you need to make your own judgement about the risk.

[Buxbaum]

PS these threads usually bring out someone who will tell you that French women aren’t told to avoid rare meat. This is bollocks; French guidance is pretty much identical to the NHS. The difference is that toxo is routinely screened in the booking-in bloods for French women.

When making a decision for myself I considered that I have always eaten red meat rare, along with my fair share of tartare, so there is a reasonable chance that I have been exposed to toxo in the past. Freezing the meat for 48 hours and ensuring that it is seared on all sides can reduce (but not eliminate) the risk.

[minipie]

What Buxbaum said.

[Ragusa]

It is not only to do with bacteria on the outside cut edges but also the risk of toxoplasmosis from unheated meat.

[Ragusa]

So no I wouldn't unless I was sure I had already been exposed to toxoplasma.

[Oysterbabe]

It's against guidelines and I personally wouldn't.

[lookingforthecorkscrew]

Meh, I would, and have.

[Strokethefurrywall]

I would and did.

[mindutopia]

Me personally, yes, I only eat my steak rare or medium rare and I’m comfortable with that, but you have to decide what you feel comfortable with.

[canihaveacoffeeplease]

I would and I did, regularly,m. To me there's be no point having a steak well done, waste of money!! I'd just go for something else!

However, I was very particular about the meat I ate, I know you can't remove the risk but being sure of the provenance etc made a big difference to me. I also wouldn't eat a rare or even medium burger pregnant as the bacteria get mixed throughout the meat when it is ground.

You say it's a nice restaurant, if you're happy with their reputation, and that the meat will be of good quality, well in date, stores correctly, Good kitchen hygiene etc I would definitely go for it. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the staff, in any decent place they'll be happy to put your mind at rest!

Enjoy!

[Alwaysaworry]

It's a small risk, especially with beef, but toxoplasmosis is the main concern. It's a parasite and the spores can be throughout the meat (I think), so it's different to the situation with bacteria and steaks vs burgers.

Many people have been infected by it before and immune, if you haven't and get the infection for the first time it can be transmitted to the baby.

[lookingforthecorkscrew]

Buy good quality steak. Enjoy.

[ButtMuncher]

I did - before I realised it wasn't recommended. In fact I ate steak regularly in the first 12 weeks

[ButtMuncher]

Pressed post too soon - it's your choice, I wouldn't if I was pregnant now, but that's me.