I'm a plonker

[Whysoserious]

Morning ladies. I'm very newly pregnant for the first time and having (what is hopefully) an irrational panic.

I went out for a meal last night to a local good quality gastro pub/restaurant where they locally source their meats. I had a fillet of beef cooked medium (I usually would have rare but decided to go for medium as pregnant thinking it would be ok.)

The meat was a big round chunk, delicious and had about an inch of brown meat along the outside and pink in the middle. I ate half of it and I think I ate mainly the brown stuff but may have had some of the link stuff too. Couldn't eat all of it and DH finished it off.

This morning I woke up in a sudden panic that I should have had the beef well done. Been googling frantically and have got myself into a right tiz about toxoplasmosis.

Is it ok to eat medium steak??? Have I done something awful?

The one thing I have reassured myself with is that I have grown up with cats (who I have kissed and cuddled - I know yuck!) and have always eaten raw steak so maybe I have built up an immunity to it?

I'm nearly 5 weeks bTW so very early and the neuroticism is already in full force.

From what I remember reading somewhere recently, as long as it's hot all the way through, there shouldn't be a problem. I had a steak out yesterday which I asked for medium and I swear it was medium rare, but it was hot all the way through (and I prefer medium-rare anyway) so I'm not panicing about it. I've had 3 steaks there since I found out I was pregnant (am 28wks today) which have all been cooked the same and everything seems to be ok so far.

Stay calm, try to put the neuroticism to one side and enjoy being pregnant.

And Congratulations!

You'll probably be fine. It's certainly not worth getting worried about as it's done now. Tonnes of women don't even know they're pregnant at 5 weeks and smoke, drink, eat all sorts of forbidden foods and grave perfectly healthy babies. Chill xx

Step away from Google and relax!

From what I remember, toxoplasmosis is more of a concern with mince rather than good quality steak and even then it's a very small risk.

I've grown up with cats too and I've also eaten medium steak a couple of time in this pregnancy (currently 24 + 5) and so far, so good.

Don't know about you, but the steak was lovely and I'd do it again!

Thank you for your reassurance ladies. I have done lots of reading about what I can and can't eat this morning and feeling a bit more confident about my food choices in the future.

Good luck with all you pregnancies - still at the stage where I have to think "what will be, will be" and can't wait for it all to become more of a reality in the 2nd tri. Just another 7 weeks to go

An interesting article that someone linked to the other day...

:)