anatomy scan question

abegailanne · February 2011

Hello ladies!

For those of you who have already had your anatomy scan, did your doctor give you any special instructions such as eating or drinking beforehand? Mine is Wednesday and at my last appointment, they just told me that I'd have the scan at my next appointment and to bring a DVD-r if we wanted to record it. Nothing about drinking a lot of water for a full bladder, or eating/drinking something with a little sugar/caffeine in it to get baby moving.

I didn't really think anything about it until this week when I mentioned to several people that we were having our scan next week. Almost all of them said "Oh, be sure to drink a Coke beforehand so LO is moving around a lot!" or told me how they almost peed themselves because they had to drink a ton of water. I'd always thought they didn't want LO to be too active so they could get the measurements needed, though.

I feel like if they wanted me to do something specific before the scan, they would have told me. I will call Monday to find out but was just curious about everyone else's experiences.

Thanks!

damabo80 · February 2011

You usually only need to drink water if they are doing a vaginal u/s to check your cervix.

My dr didn't mention anything to me about eating/drinking. I do plan to drink something sugary about 30 mins prior, just so the baby will move around a bit more and give us a show.

Let's face it....watching a sleeping baby on the u/s is kinda boring. But that is more for my entertainment than to get good measurements.

aligator423uf · February 2011

They didn't tell me anything specific, but they did ask me right before if I had a full bladder. I had just gone so I said no and he said that was good. I never understood why they'd want a full bladder anyway, I think it would just get in the way.

Coincidentally I did have a coke this morning w/breakfast (from McD's on the fly. shame shame, I know) and baby girl was super active! It took longer to get some measurements, but it just meant that we got to see her longer!

ring_pop · February 2011

My only instruction was not to empty my bladder less than 1 hr before the appointment. Otherwise, business as normal.

They told me my bladder didn't need to be absolutely full. At one point during the scan, they did tell me to go empty my bladder before continuing.

People say to consume sugar to try to make the baby move more. I agree with you that I don't think that a super active baby makes for a great scan. Sure, it's cute to see the baby kicking around, but that's not the purpose of the scan. It's not a huge deal as I'm sure an experienced tech has dealt with all types of moving babies, just something to think about. I mean, you'll enjoy seeing the babe whether it's doing somersaults or not.

Good luck!

ilovemybunny · February 2011

Well, it's best to have a full bladder, although i held it for two hours and the tech said it seemed like it was empty. As far as what to drink before hand, I had a frappucino (with no coffee in it) and my LO didn't move at all...so I guess it just depends.

abegailanne · February 2011

Thanks ladies! I appreciate your input. I agree that I don't want LO to be so active they can't get the measurements they need. I usually make sure my bladder is at least semi-full before each appointment for peeing in a cup anyway. Maybe I'll just drink some OJ right before the appointment and hope that will be enough to get them moving a bit but not too much. I'll still call to double-check, though.

Thanks again!!

abergale · February 2011

I didn't have to drink any more than normal. I actually used the bathroom right before the scan because I knew I would be uncomfortable with her pushing on my full bladder. I didn't do anything special to get DC moving with DD or this time and it went just fine. If anything this one was moving more than they wanted.

katiewhompus · February 2011

I didn't do anything special but I also wasn't allowed to pee before I went into the ultrasound. The nurse at the reception window did offer to do the potty dance with me while I waited though which was hilarious. It was easier to get through the ultrasound verses my ER ones though since they were no longer pushing directly on the bladder to see what was going on. Plus once I saw LO waving at us and rubbing her eyes I forgot about the need to pee...until we walked out and I high tailed it to the bathroom to pee in the cup for my sugar/protein/stuff test.

gemini2005 · February 2011

They made me drink 32oz of water one hour before the ultrasound. It was terrible, I almost peed myself in the waiting room! The tech let me go empty my bladder a little bit but I was really uncomfortable the whole time. I have to go back on Wednesday for another scan and they told me to do the same thing.

AsOctoberFalls · February 2011

My doctor didn't give me any special instructions. I ended up calling the day before to see if I needed to have a full bladder, and they said no. (They did both an internal ultrasound to check the cervix and the abdominal ultrasound to check on LO).

I *did* drink some juice before-hand because I wanted to wake LO up if he was sleeping. Big Smile He was moving around, but he wasn't too crazy - the U/S technician was easily able to get everything she needed.

skimball09 · February 2011

My first child I had a different insurance and they didn't tell me anything about drinking before and it worked out fine...

This time I got this instruction letter about drinking 60 oz 90-60 minutes before the scan and not to empty my bladder...um did they forget i'm pregnant?? im afraid its going to be torture!! hahah

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