Bladder not visible at nuchal scan?

[seamew]

Hi everyone,

Just had my dating scan today at 13+2 and the bladder wasn't visible. The sonographer didn't say anything about this, other than that she couldn't see it, but google suggests it should be visible by 13 weeks. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi, I'm not an expert but I wouldn't think there was cause for concern. Our sonographer only pointed out the heartbeat and the femur at my 13 week scan - she wasn't looking for anything else and said it would be difficult to see anything anyway at that stage anyway. It really depends on baby's position - my baby would not cooperate so we couldn't even get the full tests done, let alone spot any vital organs!

Please try not to worry - if she was really concerned then maybe she would have referred you for a more detailed scan? xx

Sorry for your worries. The bladder should be visible by 12 weeks BUT it constantly fills and empties (I think takes up to 30 minutes) so it may just have been that the bladder was empty when the sonographer tried to visualise it.

If you are concerned then you could always speak to your midwife. A bladder that is NEVER seen after say scanning for 60 minutes is a cause for concern and is normally due to kidney problems (which sadly my DC1 had). However the bladder is not routinely checked by all NHS hospitals at the nuchal scan and even if it is, as I mention above, it may just be that at that moment in time the bladder was empty. The bladder and kidneys will always be checked at the 20 week scan- due to my history I have always had extra scans and had them checked earlier.

Thank you, iwant, that makes sense - I had read about it filling up, and I was only in there for 10-15 minutes. I am very sorry to hear about your DC.

I think I will speak to the midwife about it, but I have to presume that if her not seeing it under those circumstances, in and of itself, was a problem she would have said something. It is a relief to hear that it's not always checked - looking forward to the 20 week scan with a bit of trepidation now.

Don't forget the size issue here.
It is usually visible, but it's also probably smaller than a grain of rice.
As someone else said. If it's empty it's going to be nigh on invisible!

A grain of rice! That is small. Thank you Saggy that's very reassuring.