Do you not need to have a full bladder for the first scan?

[loganberry12]

I thought you did need to have a full bladder pass pregnancys i have always been told that i should have one. Just recieved my scan appointment and it says you do not need to have a full bladder? has this changed then?

You can have too full a bladder - I did and had to do half a wee

I think 1/2 pint of water before you go is enough.

Oh, and good luck. It's lovely seeing them for the first time

You need a full bladder for scans done through the tummy (like you see on TV) but not for scans done vaginally. Early scans are often done that way.

It's not as bad as it sounds. Really, it isn't.

i've just had an appointment come through to check an ovarian cyst and the letter said to drink two pints an hour before the appointment. I'm not drinking that much i'll never hold it in.

You only need a full scan for the anomaly (20 week scan). I had a full bladder for my 12 week one and she got me to go and pee because there wasn't enough room for the baby to move!

I think the technology has improved. I needed a full bladder for my first child (now 6.5) but not for subsequent children.

never needed a full bladder myself - does it depend on the scanning equipment?

no, you don't need a full bladder, even for a tummy one - although I was told that as i was skinny there wasn't much to get through - not sure if it depends on your size but I had an empty bladder as they did my vaginal one first. And don't worry, I only had a vaginal one due to other complications, they aren't routine.
Drink a sensible amount and you will be fine, they press hard so don't drink too much

its great to see the baby so enjoy!

Depends on the equipment. If it's tops there's no need. At the Fetal Medicine Centre for eg there's no need for a full bladder.
My NHS hospital letter stated I should drink at least a litre of water before my scan. I dutifully did that only to be told that I needed to empty my bladder because it was too full (I drink lots of water anyway + no tea/coffee at the mo').
The following scan she again told me the bladder was in the way!!

Well they told me to have a full bladder but the baby wouldn't play ball and get into position for measurements etc. So I had to walk around for 10 minutes - by which time I was BURSTING - so much so that when I went back in you couldn't see the baby for the bladder! So I had to go back to the loo - and completely emptied my bladder (the relief!) - and they got perfectly good pictures

My letter told me to drink two glasses before I got there.

I suspect they deliberately run the clinics late so that you can drink water while you're there.

It made my scan deeply unpleasant, bladder-wise! It was the first time (second child, already had one scan with this and LOTS of scans with DD) that they thought to mention my uterus was tilted backwards, so maybe they had to press on extra hard... but good lord I was frightened of having an accident!

We are told to go pee before scan. It might be that technology has moved on from the days when full bladder was somehow necessary.

my letter says drink half a litre an hour before. i think it must depend on the age of the equipment.

mine says 2 pints...must be using a torch in my hospital then! Does anyone know if being quite thin makes a difference? I am 12 weeks and have quite a big bump but skinny everywhere else....

it depends on the equipment, i would go with one its easier to pee than to it for ages drinking especially since it takes ages to get from stomach to bladder

i had scans where i didnt need it then went back and did need one

My bladder too full, midwife scared us couldn't find baby, she was pushed away over to the side

I think it depends on the equipment. With my first pregnancy I had to drink a pint of water before the 12 week scan but didn't need to drink anything before the 20 week scan cos it was done of a different scanner.