What do you think about medium rare steak?

[Jane7]

I'm going to a steak restaurant tonight and I usually like my steak pretty rare. It hardly seems worth having if I can't have any pink bits in it. The meat will be very good quality, do you reckon I'm alright having mine medium rare? Did anyone else eat pink steak when pregnant? I'm 24 weeks by the way.

[Piffle]

no reason why you can't have rare steak!

[ismellofbabysick]

i ate medium rare steak in all 3 pregnancies
Enjoy it!

[DirtySexyMummy]

I eat my steak rare.

When I was pregnant, I was advised against it as there can be bacteria and (I think) listeria and such harboured as it is not fully cooked (obviously)

I had a well done steak once. Waste of time. Another time I had one medium, and it was alright, tasty enough, not the same as rare but it was fine. Cooked right through. However, I was told by someone else that you shouldn't even eat it medium.

I never got ill or anything, and they were both very posh restaurants so presumably a decent quality of meat.

I don't think it is advisable to eat steak that is not fully cooked when pregnant though.

[plummed]

I think it's only frowned on because of the risk of food poisoning. Same with all the warnings about soft cheese = listeria, mayonnaise will kill your baby, etc. I think as long as you trust the restaurant/ chef's meat and hygiene you should be okay...

Would like to stress this is MY opinion, not medical knowledge... But I am still eating my steaks medium rare with mayonnaise (I'm weird, I know!) at 39 weeks, and have all the way through

[slinkiemalinki]

You shouldn't; I have; just don't search for the horrible toxoplasmosis thread I read a few weeks back on here that made me worried sick about my medium rare steaks. (Non pg I am a rare girl myself).

[witchandchips]

I think medium rare is okay but sadly i think having it blue as i prefer it would be risking it.
I've also heard that the risk is much lower for steak than for things like mince. Its something to do with the bacteria being on the outside with steak and hence charred away whereas being in the middle with mince

[Bluebutterfly]

I really don't want to scare-monger (because I love rare steak and do think that some of the advice for pg women is based on very small statistical chances) but I have a close relative who lost her first child shortly after birth because she contracted toxoplasmosis from meat. From knowing about that situation I would not eat undercooked meat while pg. I know that 9 months seems like a long time, but you can eat rare steak to your hearts content once the baby is born! Just my opinion though...

[Thankyouandgoodnight]

I've gone medium rare all the way and I'm 35 weeks so far.

[missingwine]

I'm 37 weeks and I've not had any due to the risk to baby. Salivating now at the thought of having one in a couple of weeks

[Upwind]

I've gone from having it rare to medium rare - like witch&chips I had the impression that steak was okay as long as the surface was seared, and the real risk is from burgers/meatballs/mince etc.

Does anyone know if this is wrong?

[missingwine]

The NHS pregnancy website advocates thoroughly cooking meats due to the risk of toxoplasmosis (an illness caused by an organism which has been found in raw meat, soil and cat faeces).
www.nhs.uk/livewell/pregnancy/pages/healthyeating.aspx, as does the NCT in their book on food facts.

The risk of toxoplasmosis if caught by a pregnant woman is that it can seriously affect the unborn baby. Fortunately it is very rare and is reported to affect approximately 1 in 50,000 pregnancies.

I guess it's up to the individual, and how desperate they are to get their fork stuck into a nice juicy, pink steak!

[expatinengland]

Enjoy...this UK rule has always been interesting to me. It's not a guideline in the US to eat beef well done, just other meat like poultry or pork. Also, shrimp (prawns) are fine even in the UK....people don't pay attention to the guideline that they're supposed to be cooked...well who eats them raw anyway?

Of course if you have a sip of drink...even once..during your pregnancy in the US...you are bad, bad, bad. Women have even been arrested drinking while pregnant in the US.

Interesting that the rules are different..soft cheese also fine in the US as long as it's pasteurized.

[expatinengland]

obviously meant drinking alcohol

[ChocOrange05]

I was told that as long as the meat is well sourced and fresh I think its ok. Personally I have eaten a steak at a good restaurant which was medium and I would do it again but I wouldn't have it too often just because I am concerned about tempting fate! But now and again should be fine!

[lou031205]

Well, first time around I didn't eat steak at all (if it's not rare, it's not a steak, in my opinion).

2nd time round I decided to throw caution to the wind, and was going to order a rare steak. My mouth was salivating at the thought, my stomach was gurgling with anticipation, and I could smell it. I went to open my mouth and... I couldn't do it! I just knew that I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to my baby, and regardless of the cause, it would be the steak that did it, IYSWIM.

So, I decided that the emotional risk was higher than the physical one, but I just couldn't do it.

Guess what one of my first meals post childbirth was, though?

[PregnantPenguin]

I think that rare steak is one of the best things ever and I intend to eat about four of them with my bare hands as soon as this LO gets out of me!!! (EDD tomorrow)

I have been over cautious as this is my first pregnancy and only had medium well done, but it has not been fun. Once the first three months were out the way I did start to steal bites of DH's very bloody steaks on the basis that my body can protect the baby from one mouthful....

It's all personal choice. I'm just a wimp that's too scared...if you have one, just make sure you enjoy it!

[PregnantPenguin]

Opps, you went to the restaurant last night....did you do it?

[chutneymary]

It's so hard to decide isn't it? The likelihood of there being a problem is very low, yet if there were a problem it'd be hard NOT to blame the steak, even if this weren't the cause.

I love blue steak. In first pg went for medium well and wish I'd had something else. Second pg had a few bits of slightly pink lamb (when at a dinner party and not "out") and all ok. So far this pg - none. However, I did eat plenty of parma ham, proscuitto etc before I found out but that seemed to be OK. I asked for a tox test out of interest really at my booking bloods to see if years of rare meat has given me immunity but haven't had it back yet. The MW looked very surprised when I asked and seemed to think I was panicking unnecessarily. We'll see.

So I suppose the burning Q is - did you have it and was it good ? If so I'll have steak envy all day.

[Upwind]

After much googling it seems that toxoplasmosis is almost unheard of in beef. And so long as the surface of fresh steaks is seared there should not be a risk of food poisoning - so steak served medium rare should be fine. But I must confess that I have also been having my lamb medium rare and won't do that again.

The meats to be careful of are those from sheep, pigs and goats. And it is very important to avoid cat faeces. So gloves while gardening then.

[Upwind]

fresh steak is seared

[Upwind]

And to qualify my conclusions - there is no proof that you can't catch it from beef.

[XxFluffehBunnyxX]

My midwife told me that she doesn’t see anything wrong with watching medium rare steak. Toxoplasma she believe is an Indian wives rap or something along those lines. I cannot stay away from medium rare steak. I only have it one in a while but I just demolish it all when I do have it. Best way to cook steak ever I reckon