Accidentally ate stuffing that looked undercooked. 30 weeks pregnant

[Mesbee]

This is my 3rd pregnancy and I’d like to think I’m a pretty rational person. I follow the NHS food guidelines but I don’t worry about things i ate before I was pregnant, or the occasional glass of wine.

We went out for Sunday lunch today somewhere we had never been to before. I ordered turkey which came with stuffing. I didn’t think twice about it, until half way through eating I realised that the stuffing was really soft texture (not remotely crispy) and looked slightly pink in certain lights. It was a meat stuffing, probably pork but I can’t be sure. I didn’t eat any more of it as it wasn’t particularly nice anyway, but now I am concerned. It was definitely cooked inside the turkey, which when i googled I realised is a no no when pregnant. Now I’m worried that I could get Toxoplasmosis or Listeriosis or something horrible that could harm my baby.

I’m annoyed with myself for not thinking of this before eating it- although the whole plate was covered in gravy so it was hard to see what was what. I know there’s nothing I can do now it’s happened, but am I right to be worried? I have a midwife appointment on Friday but I’m presuming it’s a watch and wait scenario so not much point in mentioning it.

I’ve attached a picture if that helps! Just looking for a bit of reassurance really! Thanks in advance x

Forgot to attach the picture (baby brain)

You and your baby will be absolutely fine. Don’t worry another second.

Not sure that it would be in separate little bobbly lumps if it wasnt cooked. Looks cooked to me

Its really hard with stuffing, sometimes I find its still slightly pinky but it is cooked, Ive had this at home and in restaurants. I think its just the colour of the meat sometimes, or if there was a lot of filler, so when it cooks its not really firm like a solid piece of sausage meat would be.

You're fine. Don't worry.

The food guidelines are there because if you were to get food poisoning in the early part of a pregnancy it can trigger a miscarriage. By 30 weeks that's (a) very much more unlikely to happen and (b) if you did get food poisoning it would be a lot easier to give you treatments that would keep the baby safe at this stage. Don't worry as long as you feel normal. If you suddenly start getting acute vomiting and diarrhea then do seek medical advice but don't panic.

Thanks for the replies. My children have both been poorly this week so I’ve had very little sleep 🙈 I think that’s why I’m slightly over reacting.

Google is great sometimes, but in this case it’s defo made me feel worse. I don’t think it was completely raw, but apparently stuffing cooked inside the turkey is a risk to anyone (not just pregnant woman) which I had no idea about. Something to do with the stuffing not reaching safe temperatures and absorbing raw meat juices. Apparently Toxoplasmosis doesn’t always cause any symptoms but can cause problems for the baby. The only way to find out you’re infected is a blood test which isn’t routinely done in the UK. It’s more likely for the baby to become infected during the 3rd trimester. I’m just annoyed that I could have avoided the worry by ordering something else x