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I have only experienced carpal tunnel while pregnant; the swelling compresses the nerves, so if you didn't have it before, it might very well go away on it's own after pregnancy. In the meantime, what helped me was wearing a wrist brace at night so I could sleep and sometimes using ice would reduce the swelling and relieve the pain. Hang in there! I know it's miserable.

I have noticed since becoming pregnant that my right wrist aches every once in a while, where it never did before (unless I was drafting or researching for an incredible amount of time). The next time it happens, I should remember to remind myself to see how my swelling/fluid retention seems that day.

@mediagirl: Carpal tunnel usually involves numbness/tingling/burning pain---especially if it gets worse at night.

Are all your fingers going numb, or only some of them? Only the thumb, and fingers 2, 3, and half of 4 are innervated by the nerve that runs through the carpal tunnel. The other half of finger 4, and the pinky finger are innervated by the radial nerve (which does not travel through the carpal tunnel).

My boss is an orthopedist, and I thought I had CTS, but he checked the two nerves in my wrists and I DO NOT!

I have a different neuropathy brought on by swelling--severe burning pain/tingling at night, and pain with random numbness during the day.

At work we see tons of patients with CTS--and many of them recently postpartum. It does go away with time, though often it goes away faster with physical therapy/occupational therapy. It can take a year to fully go away.

Only in pregnant women do the orthopedists allow for such a long recovery WITHOUT recommending surgery.

Yes- only in later pregnancy, and just like @Pastemoo described, only specific fingers and parts of fingers on both hands were going numb, to the point that I had to go on a modified light duty at work. They stayed numb for several more weeks postpartum, and finally by 8 weeks I had feeling back in all fingers/parts of fingers.

I wore wrist braces most of the time, it didn't do a heck of a lot but helped a little. Now I have very sore wrists and locking that @chopsuey119 described, every morning- but it is gone for the most part after a few hours, still better than numb fingers.

I definitely did. It showed up toward the end of my first trimester. I did acupuncture and it helped manage the pain and eventually it went away completely! Good luck!

@jessiejo17: Ouch!

@808love: This is true. My boss gives corticosteroid injections for pregnant women with CTS. You just have to make sure your nerve pain IS CTS before you get it.