20 week ultrasound prep??

denster21 · April 2011

Hey ladies, my 20 week ultrasound is next week but no one has said any thing about drinking a bunch of water and holding my urine or any thing like that... do not all ultrasound tech's have you do that or will they call me and tell me what I need to do to be ready??

Did any of you not have to drink water before?? Thanks!!

jonnygurl76 · April 2011

i haven't had to drink water for any of my u/s, not even my first to date my pregnancy at 8 weeks. you should be fine.

jackiemf · April 2011

I was told a full bladder for my first and second ultrasound.

mdotm0904 · April 2011

it depends on the place. some like you to have a full bladder. some don't. pretty sure they would've told you that when they scheduled ur ultrasound. however, i would just give them a courtesy call the day before and ask (that's what i did & was told that a full bladder wasn't necessary)

mabst196 · April 2011

You shouldn't have to drink anything or hold urine for a 20 week US.

pettycrocker · April 2011

I think you're especially NOT supposed to have a full bladder for the a/s, since I've had 3 of them now, they say the full bladder gets in the way of everything they need to see.

denster21 · April 2011

Thank you soooo much for all your information! Now I can relax and just hope the little peanut isn't too shy!! )

Mrs.Wright07 · April 2011

I had my big ultrasound today and I had to drink 30 oz of water an hour before, but they called me and told me that beforehand.

Brooke&Matt · April 2011

I had to drink 16oz of water one hour before hand just so they could get some good pictures of the cervix and placenta. They had me empty my bladder before we really saw much of the baby. When I asked, they said that they probably could've gotten what they needed with an empty bladder, but they had me come in with a full bladder to be on the safe side.

Good luck and have fun seeing your little one!

Karen1998 · April 2011

Crash Into Me:
Just go with a full bladder. They will tell you to empty it if necessary.

This. Every place seems to be different on the "bladder rule" so it's easiest to just show up with a full one and use their bathroom if they want it empty.

lookingformommyland · April 2011

I drank water before but as soon as they saw her heartbeat they let me empty.

Sharra711 · April 2011

mabst196:
You shouldn't have to drink anything or hold urine for a 20 week US.

With DD and this pregnancy they told me to drink 16oz of a non-carbonated liquit 45min before my appointment and not to pee.

If it's too full you can empty it, but I remember with DD they told me to drink OJ to make sure that she was awake in there... sounds counter productive to me... but whatever.

Mr. & Mrs. RN · April 2011

They told me to drink a bunch of water beforehand last pregnancy and come with a full bladder. I couldn't make it through the ultrasound and they asked me to partially drain my bladder, until I was comfortable, then to stop. Whaaaaa? Seriously try doing that sometime. Not easy, or fun. I will come with a semi-full bladder this time, but I will also not drink the recommended amount of water.

AmyLaurel89 · April 2011

I drank OJ to "wake the baby" but she didn't move around too much more than usual. That trick didn't work during my u/s but it sure has when I'm at home. Breakfast almost always means feeling some baby moves a little later.

srehman · April 2011

I was wondering about this too, I am glad you posted

akalutts · April 2011

Don't drink more or less than you would (unless you don't drink anything) and I was told not to urinate after 30 minutes before the appointment. If they want your bladder empty at that point, they'll tell you to go to the bathroom.

superloopie · April 2011

i think ever place is different. for my 20 wk u/s in a couple weeks i have to have a full bladder.

mabma80 · April 2011

They've told me it's easier if you have a full bladder. But I was never instructed to have eaten something or drank something. Just go about your day like normal.

mrs_rodney · April 2011

The full bladder is to measure the cervical length. That may not be a routine measurement in every anatomy scan though. I'd either check or just go with a full bladder. You can always pee quick before the scan if you don't need a full bladder. They should get the measurements needed with a full bladder right away and then let you go to the bathroom so you can continue the scan comfortably.

The OJ or sugary drink is to make the baby move around more. A lot of places will recommend against that because it makes measurements harder to get with a moving baby, and since getting accurate measurements is the whole point of the scan is kinda counterproductive.

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