How 'Full' Should My Bladder Be For An Embryo Transfer?

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In this article:

• How Much to Drink Before Embryo Transfer
• Why is a full bladder is helpful for embryo transfer?
• How 'full' should my bladder be before embryo transfer?
• A Real-Life Example

How Much to Drink Before Embryo Transfer

Ever wondered just how "full" you should be for your embryo transfer? Or been curious why you need to have a full bladder at all? Nurse Practitioner Monica Moore tackles this frequently asked question with an easy-to-understand explanation (and diagram).

Monica Moore:

One of the most common questions we get is "How much water do I need to drink prior to the embryo transfer?" Let's talk about why it's so important to have a full bladder.

Why is a full bladder is helpful for embryo transfer?

Check out this drawing of a uterus.

You can see the catheter goes through the cervix, where it encounters a curve. Most people's uteruses are tipped forward, some are tipped back, but regardless, it encounters a curve. In this catheter is your fragile embryo, so we try to make this passage easier, with less of a curve.

As the bladder fills, it pushes down on the uterus, and sort of flattens out. What this does is makes the passage of that catheter just a little bit easier. Having a full bladder provides the contrast that we need for your ultrasound, in order to visualize the embryo actually going into the uterus. 

How 'full' should my bladder be before embryo transfer?

Let's talk about how much water you need [to drink]. We want you to have an "uncomfortably full" bladder. What is uncomfortably full and how many ounces does that require?  It depends on how hydrated you are!

• If you're somebody that is well hydrated by the time of your transfer, which is usually in the afternoon, then maybe drinking 60 ounces gives you an uncomfortably full bladder.
• If you're someone like me, who drinks coffee all morning and doesn't drink water until 1pm, then 72 ounces might get you to a full bladder, but it's not uncomfortably full, and that's where you want it to be. 
• Uncomfortably full feels like you're standing there and you kind of are wiggling around trying to think of something else besides the fact that you have a full bladder, wondering if you're going to pee in the middle of the procedure. Most people don't. You might. That's okay! We're used to it.

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A Real-Life Example

Maybe when you were young, you went on a car ride with your parents and they won't pull over at the rest stop in time and you're sitting in the car kind of wiggling around. (Dad, if you're watching this, I'm still traumatized by that, by the way...) But you know how you feel when you're sitting in the car, wiggling around? That's an uncomfortably full bladder.

Keep in mind that your embryo transfer is in the afternoon almost 99% of the time. So, you do have time to drink fluids, but really start drinking fluids [ahead of your procedure] so at the time of the transfer, it's already full.

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