For gynaecological ultrasounds, an abdominal ultrasound gives a good overview and water in your bladder can help make the ultrasound clear.

When having a vaginal ultrasound (where a narrow probe is inserted), this is performed after emptying your bladder. It adds useful detail to almost all pelvic scans.

For most gynaecological (pelvic) ultrasounds, we use both approaches. In fact, the angles are often complimentary to each other.

If you expect you will be having a vaginal ultrasound, two glasses of any liquid is enough to drink, ideally 3/4 of an hour before. You may come without drinking if you have bladder problems.

A vaginal ultrasound sounds awkward, but it is typically a far gentler examination than a pap smear. Once we are familiar with you, we may advise you individually if you do not need to drink at all for further gynaecological ultrasounds at this practice.

If a vaginal ultrasound would not be appropriate, the bladder filling becomes more important for the views through the abdomen. For a gynaecology ultrasound, children, adolescents and women who have never had a pap smear will need to have a full bladder. Usually 3 large glasses of fluid an hour before the appointment is realistic. If the bladder is not full enough, we may require you to wait and fill at the time of the ultrasound. This can take a very long time. For this reason, young girls and adolescents are not booked late in the day.