Another thing it could be is Tendinitis, you can always go in and check it out if it gets too painful. It could also be the way that the baby is laying and could be pinching certain nerves. I am not sure what trimester you are in but if you are in your third an exercise you can try is getting on all fours and while laying on your forearms with your bum in the air stay there for like 20 min and see if the baby gets a chance to get in another position. Good Luck!
Hi Angela,
It sounds like you are having carpal tunnel syndrome of pregnancy.
I experienced the same thing with my first pregnancy. It started at the beginning of my 2nd trimester. I'd wake up w/severely numb hands, fingers and part of my arms. It got progressively worse. It would go numb and hurt sometimes just using my arms to brush my teeth/hair, wash dishes or even drive. It was very irritating. I tried wearing braces at night on both hands as my dr. suggested. This helped a little bit for a while. Finally at 25 weeks I started seeing an orthopedic dr. and got steriod injections into my wrists about every 4 weeks, through the remainder of my pregnancy. These injections hurt, and usually made the numbness worse for the first day, but after that they REALLY helped. The dr. thought my carpal tunnel was severe and that I might need surgery after I delivered. It took a couple of months, but it all completely went away without further intervention. I am now 33 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. I've had slight numbness at night, but other than that everything has been fine.
Anyway, hope that helps!
Hi Angela - It looks like you've already gotten quite a few people saying there's a good chance it's carpal tunnel. I had carpal tunnel even before getting pregnant. The thing that worked the best was yoga, it stretched and strengthened my wrists. I would wake up crying every night, after about a month of yoga it started going away, along with the numbness during the day. Of course you shouldn't start any new exercise without consulting your doctor but yoga is usually easy on your body. There are many yoga programs for expecting moms so they won't do any poses that are too strenuous. Hope this helps and that it goes away after you have the baby
hi Angela,
Same thing happend to me...I read that it is normal in pregnancy. Mine went away after having my baby. I would try massaging out the numbness..it helped for me!
good luck,
Katie
Hi Angela,
When I was pregnant with my son last year, I developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists from the swelling. It was the worst when I woke up in the morning, both of my arms were numb, the palms of my hands turned red, and my fingertips were numb and uncomfortable, so it kind of sounds like you have the same thing. There's not much a doctor can do for it, I found sleeping with those wrist braces helped a little bit but really I got no full relief until my son was born. Hope this was helpful!
I am also experiencing this. I think it is because I have enough swelling that I don't have as good of circulation as normal. If you're really concerned, just call you OB's office and ask to talk to one of the nurses.
Angela,
It sounds like Carpal Tunnel. I got it when I was pregnant the first time, and have traces of it now (I'm pregnanct again w/ my second) although it isn't as bad. I went to Walgreens and got a couple of wrist braces that really seemed to help with the numbness. I also ended up going to PT to try to help the circulation. Unfortunately, pregnancy does bring little side effects that can't be helped too much. I would talk to your doctor, but in the meantime try getting the braces, it helped me. I purchased the Futuro brand and they were developed to help carpal tunnel.
Hi Angela, This has happened to me with all three of my pregnancys...If you go to Walmart or Walgreens and buy a wrist brace and wear it at night, they wont go numb at night or duing the day..(you wont have to wear it during the day, just at night) I'm not sure what causes it, but I feel for you, it is hard enough to sleep pregnant, then to have your hand go numb...Try it, believe me it works. ( you might even be able to get one free from your Dr.)
This may well be an effect of pregnancy, With all the changes occuring in your body--increased blood volume, hormone changes, structural shifts, etc--there may be some nerves being pinched. I would go see a prenatal massage therapist and possibly a chiropractor--you may have great results.
Pam
Certified Massage Therapist
Hi i am about 24 weeks pregnant myself and i have the same problem. It is always good to consult a doctor but being pregnant changes your blood flow and you will loose circulation at times. It can also be caused by dehydration. If you arent drinking anough water numbness can set in. Like i said you should always ask your doctor though.because dehydration is very dangerous when you are expecting.
Hi Angela! I was worried when I was pregnant with my son about this too. My fingertips always got numb especially at night. I don't know why they did that but they stopped a few weeks after I had him. So I am pretty sure it is normal.