Do I need a full bladder for 20 week scan?

[ray_of_sunshine_]

I don’t have a letter and can’t remember midwife mentioning it.

[Seb9]

No, baby is big enough to see without by now 😁 They might get you to pee during your scan or do star jumps if baby doesn't cooperate to get all the measurements, mine was napping during my scan and I had to go for a walk, do star jumps, drink cold water, and pee to try and jiggle her about a bit.

[Supergirl87 in reply to Seb9]

I had to twerk during mine 😂😂

[Seb9 in reply to Supergirl87]

😂 That's brilliant, will keep that in mind for next time if I need to jiggle about 🤣

[ray_of_sunshine_]

Thanks for getting back to me. I had the scan at 9ish this morning before your message. Went with a partially full bladder just in case. Sonographer told me to pee half way through, said didn’t need full bladder. Managed to see most things but have to go back in 2 weeks for another scan as baby wouldn’t move in correct position

[Seb9 in reply to ray_of_sunshine_]

They are little pickles sometimes, mine did eventually play ball after the star jumps. Hope the next scan goes well xx

[ray_of_sunshine_ in reply to Seb9]

I think I have a lazy baby, had trouble in the last scan too. They didn’t suggest star jumps but might do it next time if have the same situation again - good tip. Thank you x best wishes to you too x

[Ritdit]

They need your bladder full to see your placenta clearly they usually let you pee once they’ve checked it because they don’t need a full bladder to see the baby

[Shopper85]

No as your body would have made enough amniotic fluid by then for them to see inside

[Evi5]

Glad you went in with a plan. You gave yourself both options. Hope it was lovely seeing him/Her. When I had my scan I was told I did not need a full bladder so I did not fill it. Which made things a bit more difficult to see, so she spent a lot of time encouraging the fetus to come closer to the surface, making me flip side to side, fill my bladder. Luckily we got through it but it would have been so much more quicker and better if I had. I felt like the radiographer spent more time trying to get up and close that it left her with less time to do her checks. So, I guess I'm writing this to say I'm glad you took that approach and I would recommend to any ladies to follow your way, as you never know. There is no harm but avoids problems and they have both options.

[ray_of_sunshine_ in reply to Evi5]

Thanks it was great seeing baby and things are starting to feel very real! There is so much disparity / lack of clear advice from nhs on this for sure

[Sevy571]

For my 20 wk scan I was told to also have a full bladder and they checked (by asking) upon arrival. A full bladder pushed the baby up so it's much easier to see. They recommend drinking 1 pint one hour before.