A full bladder is necessary for an early pregnancy scan. It lifts the uterus away from the bowels and the fluid better reflects the sound waves as they will just pass through air (as in empty bowels).The images are much clearer with a full bladder.

I stopped following that blog. Most of the signs are not passive aggressive, or even very funny. I guess the "THIS MEANS YOU!!!" at the end is overkill, but it's not that bad.

OK, so how is that sign at all passive aggressive and if "amanda in fairhaven, mass... was a little frightened by this sign." she should get help before her shadow induces a coronary.

I had to have an ultrasound when I was having gynae problems a few years ago and I was told not to pee beforehand.

I have to tell you it is extremely unpleasant to have a full bladder and someone pressing down on it with the scanner. I peed like a shire horse afterwards though.

I'm like a reverse camel, don't need to go for hours and hours, so they never told me and never needed to - always have half a bladder full anyway.

Instead we have the "no photography or filming" rules. Miklas, ever the photographer had his camera out and asked why and the ultrasound-doc just looked at him and matter-of-factly said "what if it's bad news, do you want that on film?". I swear he went slightly green at the thought and packed down his camera again.

We heard this a bunch, and when my wife went for her first ultrasound, she was doing the pee-pee dance all the way to the doctor's office, but when we got there they told her she could pee. She never once had a full-bladder ultrasound, and she had both the surface scanner and the tennis racket handle up the hoo-hoo scanner.

When I had my "drink a whole mess o'water" ultrasound, I threw up as soon as I got to the scanning place.

Then they told me I'd drunk too much water and could I go *just a little bit*?

It was annoying, lemme tell ya.

(But then they typed "BOY PARTS!!!!" on the ultrasound picture and everything was okay.)

That is really interesting, I did not know that. Thanks guys.

My first ultrasound was 15 years ago. Back then, they had to schedule me. They told me to arrive with a full bladder, but my pregnancy was still so early that after they tried, they told me to "go", and they went with the wand up my naughty bits. My son was just a five week blob at that point.

My second pregnancy, nearly four years later, they just gave me an ultrasound at my first visit, no bladder fullness necessary. And they videotaped it for me!

Also, when you are waiting with your bladder that full, it's hard to remember not to go to the bathroom.