Freaking out about toxoplasmosis

[applesoda]

Help! I’m 13 weeks pregnant and last night in a restaurant I accidentally ate a piece of bread that had been the vehicle for steak tartar (as in it was served underneath the raw steak), someone else had eaten the beef already but I scoffed the bread thinking that’s all it was.

I was feeling a bit dumb when I realised but ok, pre-pregnancy I ate rare steak quite a lot and never got food poisoning but today I’ve been told it’s actually toxoplasmosis that is the danger. Now I’m FREAKING out. What if my bread stealing could really cause my baby brain damage. I’ve got no idea what to do now, called the midwife but they’re too busy to speak to me today. Does anyone have any advice? Should I get a blood test?! Very aware that this might seem way OTT to a lot of people (me too usually) so please bear with me.

No, really, it’s going to be okay.

Completely OTT. I’m not saying that to be harsh.

Calm down. You'll be fine. I rescued cats, changed litter trays, ate rare beef, runny eggs and blue cheese when I was pregnant. I repeat, you'll be fine.

Easier said than done but please don't worry, you won't have done yourself or your baby any harm.

I understand how you're feeling, when me and a friend were both pregnant she was slightly over the top worried about her baby getting lead poisoning from living in a house with old paint, and I was convinced my baby would have club foot. This was based on absolutely nothing but I think pregnancy can make you a little bit bonkers (meant in a nice way ).

Toxoplasmosis isn’t very common. When I first found out I was pregnant I got a private blood test for toxo (just wanted to find out if I was immune to it). After several decades of eating rare beef and lamb I tested negative for it!

Your baby will be fine. Toxoplasmosis is not guaranteed from raw meat. The chances are very very low. The advice to avoid all of that stuff during pregnancy is purely to minimise/eradicate any low risk of any infection.

Foods don’t suddenly become dangerous just because you’re pregnant. Some foods should just be avoided to take you from very very low risk to zero risk.

You’re at the same risk of getting ill from a piece of bread than you were when you weren’t pregnant ie almost no risk whatsoever.

Hello,

I completely get how you're feeling as I was v worried about toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. A few things hopefully will ease your mind:

Meat doesn't automatically have toxoplasmosis. It has to essentially have a toxoplasmosis infection first.
Any meat that is frozen beforehand is not a risk as freezing kills the parasite.
It's v rare to get toxoplasmosis in the UK
I had two blood tests for it during pregnancy and had no immunity despite having eaten rare steak, lots of unwashed raw veggies etc my whole life

If you are really worried you can get a blood test for peace of mind. But would need to wait three weeks for an infection to show.