20 week scan

[FirstMumToBe]

Hi, I have my 20 week scan next week, the hospital have sent me a text reminding me about it however nothing in the post like they did when it was my 12 week scan.

I am just wondering whether there is a certain amount of water I need to drink or do I need to do anything before I get there!
I've tried google and it's giving me a mixture of answers!
Much appreciated x

Drink when you get there or you’ll be in agony if they’re running late. If they need you to drink more or partly empty your bladder they’ll tell you. Don’t worry about it!

Is it an anomaly scan? If it is they check all the baby's organs/measurements, check the limbs and check the facial features to see if everything is fully formed. You should have enough fluid around the baby at 20 weeks bit hAve a glass or sother beforeif you want. I found my 20 week scan both exciting and scary. Everything was fine thankfully.

Yes it's an anomaly scan, just abit on edge so wanted to make sure they could get a clear enough picture without me having to drink as much as I did at the 12 week scan because I could of burst at that one!
How long do anomaly scans usually last for? Very nervous as it's mine and OH first time x

Hi FirstMumToBe I didn’t need to have a full bladder for my anomaly scan. I remember being nervous but also excited and we decided that we wanted to know the sex of the baby. It took a lot of effort to get him to turn around though so in order for the sonographer to get all the measurements and some good photos I had to lie on my side, jiggle about a bit and the go on to my other side, in the end I had to sit in the waiting room for 15 minutes and then he finally played ball, it was hilarious😂 so we were where for a while to answer your question.

Forgot to say I’m due on Monday with my first baby (after an early mc in May 2015).

Oh and of course best wishes FirstMumToBe x

Sakura03 Ahhh, thank you! I don't want to know the sex, going to leave it as a surprise so hopefully baby will be on it's best behaviour hahah! However at the 20 weeks scan because baby kept moving they ended up having to do an internal scan, hoping it goes better than that one!
Thank you

Ooooh good luck Sakura03 and wishing you all the best! x

Mine didn't tell me to drink anything beforehand - no prep needed. It lasted quite a while - she took her time finding every limb and organ and checking it etc. Maybe 30 minutes? But she was very good and talked us through what she was looking for. And remember, if the sonographer goes quiet it's not necessarily because something's wrong - it's probably just that they are concentrating on finding and identifying what they are looking at. There were quite a few times when it she went very quiet, but everything was ok! I was surprised by how big the baby seemed - small bits of him filled the screen when I'd been expecting to see all of him like at 12 weeks!

My leaflet said in bold no preparation needed whereas for my 12 week one it said in bold that I needed a full bladder. I went with an empty bladder and it was fine.

Mine had no instructions and so I didn’t bother going with a full bladder, it was fine and the scan was very clear. I was blown away by how much they could see and measure, it was immensely reassuring to see all the things they checked.

Also they let us buy photos so don’t forget to take some change if you want copies :)

I think as long as you have a little something in your bladder it's fine. Both my letters (12 and 20 weeks) have stated a full bladder but after my first scan experience in a previous pregnancy of my bladder being so full they couldn't even see my uterus, I stopped stressing about it so much. It's too uncomfortable if you're desperate so I've taken to just having a glass of water before i leave the house and having done with it. Had a lovely clear image at our 12 week scan with that so I'll be doing the same with my 20 week one in a couple of weeks x

About a pint of water an hour before the scan is what we usually recommend. It’s not always essential to have a full bladder but it can help and it’s always easier to empty one that’s too full than to fill one that’s too empty

All the best for your scan OP and remember the vast majority of scans are totally normal