Accidentally ate undercooked burger :(. Terrified.

[Anonymous]

I am almost 19 weeks pg after 4+ years of trying and 3 early mc. I have been super cautious - avoiding everything on the no-no list, getting lots of rest, exercising lightly. Everything I can think of to help this baby. I am a cleanliness fanatic. We don't go out to eat. I wash every fruit and veggie.

DH and I had just gotten back from the big u/s on Thursday night (it's a girl!), and I finally felt a bit relaxed. We grilled cheeseburgers for dinner. We always cook our meat well done. I have been a temperature fiend, checking and rechecking all of the meat we eat because I want to make sure that the bacteria is dead. This is literally the one time I didn't check the meat with a thermometer (probably from feeling relaxed after the u/s). I naively assumed the burger was fine. I cut it in half and happily munched away while chatting about baby girl names. I saved the last bite for my dog, and when I looked at it closely, I noticed it was PINK. I was horrified. I can't believe I didn't notice it when I cut the burger and was eating it. We didn't have the light on in the kitchen, and I guess it was just dark enough to conceal the color of the meat. I haven't thought of anything else besides listeria for days. I can't believe that after our long struggle to get pg and a one-time fail to check meat temperature, baby could potentially get a life-threatening bug .

I'm not sure what to do. Call the doctor? I already called about it once about lettuce I had a friends house (See, I'm paranoid! No longer eat lettuce), and they told me that they will see me if I have symptoms of food poisoning. I guess the average incubation for listeria in pregnancy related cases is anywhere from 17-67 days. The average is 28 days. So this means I can't relax until October. Not sure what to do, but the wait will be agonizing. Anyway, we are vegetarians now (counting grams of protein to make sure I get enough). Never need to experience that again.

Please tell me that someone has eaten something undercooked and birthed a healthy baby.

[Anonymous]

I ate medium steak and burgers all through my pregnancy.

On a side note, food wise you are super cautious. But this amount of anxiety isn't healthy. For anyone.

[Anonymous]

Can you even GET listeria from ground beef? Even if you can, the odds that you will are so tiny that this level of fear just isn't justified.

[Anonymous]

You don't get listeria from an undercooked hamburger, you get ecoli. But still don't worry, that isn't good for the baby either.

[Anonymous]

I understand loss and wanting to do everything you can to prevent it. But I would honestly see someone about your level of anxiety. I lost pgs before my first one that ended in a take home baby and I really do get how you want to seek answers and blame something for them. But eating medium meat isn't the reason you lost earlier pgs.

Just avoid the things that your doctor told you to, otherwise, a medium burger isn't going to be something to go off the deep end about. I wanted nothing more than a rare burger while I was pg...

[Anonymous]

You need to calm down. The amount of anxiety you feel regarding this is way over the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't get listeria from an undercooked hamburger, you get ecoli. But still don't worry, that isn't good for the baby either.

And next time you are in at an on appt, please tell him/her about your anxiety. It seems to be making you nuts, you don't make good decisions when you are in a constant state do panic like you seem to be. And it really isn't good for the baby to be marinating in all of those stress hormones that you are making.

And I want to say I took the time to type this out because I actually sort of hope you take my advice and chill, not to be condescending like it may seem.

[Anonymous]

Physically, you're fine. Pregnant mothers have accidentally or intentionally eaten rare or medium rare meat for millenia without endangering their unborn children. Although there is some chance of contamination, the chances of this happening in 21st century USA is rather unlikely. There are hundreds of thousands of children each year and only a few dozen to a few hundred cases of listeria each year and the latter only occurs when there is a big outbreak caused by some widespread contamination. The FDA review of food including packaged meat is pretty solid (not failproof put pretty safe).

Emotionally, however, you are over-anxious. If you are this anxious over the pregnancy alone, the infant months and toddler months may give you a nervous breakdown. I suggest that you might want to consult with a professional to try to find ways to reduce your anxieties. Perhaps something as simple as medication and relaxation exercies. Your stress level and anxiety can put out hormones that will also be dangerous for your unborn child and frankly, I think your child is in more danger from the stress hormones than from one undercooked burger.

[Anonymous]

You can get listeria from fruit such as cantaloupe. Salads have been known to be more dangerous than under cooked beef, there's simply no way possible to avoid ALL potential contaminants, OP.

[Anonymous]

Your anxiety at this point is causing more stress and risk on your baby than anything else. Getting your anxiety user control should be your first priority to ensure a healthy prenatal environment for your baby's development

[Anonymous]

You've now become a vegetarian because of this??? In all seriousness, you need to see a mental health professional. The anxiety you are exhibiting is NOT healthy for the baby. Stress has real physiological effects on both you and the baby.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Is your husband as anxious as you? No more lettuce or meat for the duration of the pregnancy???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am almost 19 weeks pg after 4+ years of trying and 3 early mc. I have been super cautious - avoiding everything on the no-no list, getting lots of rest, exercising lightly. Everything I can think of to help this baby. I am a cleanliness fanatic. We don't go out to eat. I wash every fruit and veggie.

DH and I had just gotten back from the big u/s on Thursday night (it's a girl!), and I finally felt a bit relaxed. We grilled cheeseburgers for dinner. We always cook our meat well done. I have been a temperature fiend, checking and rechecking all of the meat we eat because I want to make sure that the bacteria is dead. This is literally the one time I didn't check the meat with a thermometer (probably from feeling relaxed after the u/s). I naively assumed the burger was fine. I cut it in half and happily munched away while chatting about baby girl names. I saved the last bite for my dog, and when I looked at it closely, I noticed it was PINK. I was horrified. I can't believe I didn't notice it when I cut the burger and was eating it. We didn't have the light on in the kitchen, and I guess it was just dark enough to conceal the color of the meat. I haven't thought of anything else besides listeria for days. I can't believe that after our long struggle to get pg and a one-time fail to check meat temperature, baby could potentially get a life-threatening bug .

I'm not sure what to do. Call the doctor? I already called about it once about lettuce I had a friends house (See, I'm paranoid! No longer eat lettuce), and they told me that they will see me if I have symptoms of food poisoning. I guess the average incubation for listeria in pregnancy related cases is anywhere from 17-67 days. The average is 28 days. So this means I can't relax until October. Not sure what to do, but the wait will be agonizing. Anyway, we are vegetarians now (counting grams of protein to make sure I get enough). Never need to experience that again.

Please tell me that someone has eaten something undercooked and birthed a healthy baby.

I was really skinny when I first got pregnant and craved med to rare steak. Also philly cheesesteaks made with shaved beef, spicey red sauce, sauteed onion on white rolls. Be more worried about the dog having gotten some onion or garlic.

[Anonymous]

Goodness, RELAX, woman!

Seriously, your anxiety is causing you more harm than any undercooked meat would. I'm French. In France pregnant woman eat undercooked meat, salads and unpasteurized cheese during their pregnancies - the rate of complication during pregnancies and fetal/newborn mortality is LOWER than in the US.

Or you're just a troll. This level of ignorance may just be all made-up, at least I hope it is.

[Anonymous]

In response to the last sentence of your post, OP, yes, I ate a burger that was a little pink and I always ate my steak medium during pregnancy and my DD is fine. I'm currently pregnant and have eaten a burger that was pink this time as well. I also eat salad and runny eggs.

I had a prior loss before my daughter was born, so I was anxious about many things during my pregnancy with her--I understand that it's hard to turn it off. This time around I'm making an effort to be more relaxed--you really should find someone to talk with about your anxieties--PP are right that the stress is more harmful than a pink hamburger.