I've been working in the pregnancy field for over 10 years now and I've supported women with all types of pregnancy symptoms and experiences.  I consider myself pretty lucky with my own pregnancy...no nausea, no aching back, no headaches, good appetite.  I have, though, developed carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

CTS during pregnancy is generally caused by fluid retention/edema especially around the wrist.  The edematic tissues put extra pressure on the carpal tunnel through which a nerve to the hand runs.  I'm just one of those lucky women whose bodies is holding lots of extra fluid!

Up until now, I hadn't known of anyone who had developed pregnancy induced CTS.  I started to experience the tell tale symptoms in mid-December--first it was slight numbness in the thumb and first 3 digits of one hand, then in both hands, then a burning sensation running up my one arm.  Worst of all, this happened at night while I was trying to bank on precious sleep.  During the day, though, my hands were fine.

So I resorted to sleeping wearing wristguards and have been, for the most part, able to sleep without having to wake to a burning arm. 

Of course, things have gotten worse and my hands have developed numbness all throughout the day.  It's not usually painful, just numb and annoying.  I've tried almost all the "remedies" out there and nothing seems to help.

I'm a very tactile person and I've always used and depended on my hands a lot.  So not being able to feel things is affecting me in profound ways.  It has definitely slowed me down:  I can't type as fast or accurately (what key am I pressing?), I can't cook quite like I used to (hmm...I can't feel my hand...time to put the knife down), I've lost some hand strength (is my climbing career over?), and I've had to become more dependent. 

I believe that every pregnant women encounters a challenge during her 9 months.  CTS is mine.  I'm not complaining, things could be much worse and I'm still maintaining that it's better than the nausea I could've had.  I know it's temporary and there's a lesson for me in this challenge.