Will this hurt me or my baby?

Question

I am 10 weeks pregnant and tonight I had a steak that was well, medium rare I guess. I was sitting in a place with dimmed lights so I didn't see that it was pretty well pink, not bleeding or red, but it was pink on the inside (the outside was cooked well). The steak was all of a 3-4 ounce steak and I ate only half after I realized it wasn't well done. Like I said it wasn't still "mooing" or bleeding and it tasted fine. It was cooked at a friend's house for a bbq, so I know the cut of meat was good. My question is will this make me sick (I ate it almost 3 hours ago) and more importantly will it hurt my baby since it wasn't well done? I feel fine, but I'm still worried about the baby as I know you are supposed to eat meats that are pretty well cooked.

The meat didn't look raw or taste raw. It tasted cooked, it was just pink.

Answer 1

You're fine... the only reason they recommend you eating meat well cooked is to prevent you from getting any sort of "raw meat related sickness" i.e. tape worm... but, usually that's ham you'd worry about that with. If the meat is fresh and not left out or old, then you're fine. I ate sushi up until my 9th month of pregnancy, and when people saw me at the restaurant eating, I know they were juding me. But you know, women in Japan do it all the time, and I was craving sushi, so why not... And my sis-in-law, who was a vegetarian before she got pregnant, craved rare steaks during her entire pregnancy,and she ate them that way, too! I can't tell you how many times we'd go out to dinner with her and she'd have the waiter take her steak back because it was cooked too long. I'm sure the cook was happy when the baby was born! :-) You'll be fine. Don't worry... you'll cause more harm to you and your baby from worrying about it rather than eating the steak alone. Good luck and congrats to you! God bless!

Answer 2

The internal temperature of the steak must reach 165 degrees farenheit for 15 seconds to kill all the poential bacteria. This can be acheived pretty quickly. It could have been dripping blood and still been safe. Steak is a whole cut of meat so the middle has never been touched by anything. Its reccomended that you cook sausages or hamburger or any ground meat for a longer time because it collects more bacteria while going through the grinders and other processes. When I was pregnant I started craving rarer and rarer meat there's nothing wrong with a good steak.

Answer 3

I love rare steak. I ate it through all 4 of my pregnancies without a problem! In fact, this is the first I have ever heard that it could harm a baby. I wouldn't worry at all..especially if you were in a resturant. By law they have to cook meat to a certain temprature to kill any bacteria. So although it may have appeared pink, I am sure it was fine.

Answer 4

I always eat my steak med-rare and both my kids are fine ..I`m also 25 weeks with #3 and no problems from steak..Now other meats such as pork, chicken, and hamburger should always be cooked through. But I always heard steak was the one meat that was okay to eat med-rare..

Answer 5

Eating raw or undercooked beef is only a problem in meats that are ground or come into contact with the intestine of the animal during slaughter (because of possible contamination with E. coli). That means eating a rare steak is not a problem.

Eating undercooked ground beef/hamburger is dangerous.
Eating undercooked chicken, ham, or eggs is dangerous because of different bacteria that may be present.

I asked my uncle who is a US Department of Agriculture veterinarian about eating rare steak and he told me he'd never eat a well-done steak because it ruins the taste and texture, and burning may cause carcinogens.

Answer 6

I think you and your baby will be fine. I have never heard of a steak causing a pregnant woman to be harmed unless it was raw. I ate plenty of medium cooked (pinkish) steaks when I was pregnant and my 6 yr. old is fine. :0)

Answer 7

If the meat is angus or top choice, I think you're fine. I ate sashimi and sushi during my first pregnancy didn't get sick a bit. I have a very smart baby from all the fish oil and fish I ate.

Answer 8

i eat reare steak all the time and i tell my doctor that all the time as long as im eating the meat and getting the protein she has o worries i can understanc prok and stuff like chicken very dangerous not cooked but it had to of reached tohe temperature it needs to reach in order to cook at all so i wouldnt worry about it and if you are that concerned call your on call ob and ask someone there im sure they can help you professionally......good luck.

Answer 9

It sounds pretty low on the scale of risky behaviour. If you don't get sick in the next 3-5 hours your chances of food poisoning are low. And the baby's chance of injury are lower still.

Try not to stress too much, you've got another 30 weeks of this to get through.

Answer 10

I think you should be alright. I would eat fully cooked beef in the future, just to err on the safe side. Congrats on the baby!