Do I have to drink a lot of water for an ultrasound if I am 16 weeks pregnant?
Hi – This is my second pregnancy and I’ve had 5 ultrasounds this pregnancy and have never had the ultrasound technician say anything about drinking water beforehand. An ultrasound has nothing to do with your bladder or otherwise showing a better image of the baby. It has everything to do with the jelly they put on the wand before placing it on your stomach. Also, it is not necessary for the technician to dig into your stomach so hard. If they are doing it right and are skilled enough, the ultrasound machine should pick up everything they need to take measurements and do a BPP (biophysical profile). Good luck and I hope this helps.
It really depends on where you go and the person doing the ultrasound. With my first child I was told by the doctor to drink 20 oz of water, but when I got there they told me that I didn’t need to have a full bladder. A good thing because I was almost in tears trying to hold it in. On the other hand, with this one I have a different doctor and different hospital. I have to drink 32 oz in 15 minutes. The baby is so low that even when I don’t have a lot to drink I still have to pee like every 1 1/2 hours or so. I have a very sneaky suspicion that I will have to pee before I even get half of the water down. So by the time I get to the hospital I will more than likely be in tears from the pain of trying to hold it in.
Drink 1 liter 45 minutes before your ultrasound. Your bladder needs to be full so the image will bounce back and can be seen. At your 20 week ultrasound you will have to come with a full bladder but then after taking the first image they will let you empty your bladder and do the rest of the ultrasound.
