2 Things....

Hi K.,

As far as the carpal tunnel- ouch. So sorry to hear it. I had it very badly, too, and the best releif I found was to sleep sitting up. I wadded up that huge pregnancy body pillow and leaned against it for the last 2 months. The only down side was that it made the swelling in my legs a little worse. Mine took a few months to get better after my son was born, best wishes.

I was in the same spot you are in with my son. He did end up being breech, and there are 3 different breech positions. If you do try to have him turned, the success of it might be determined by the position he is in. They told me it could be painfull, and it might put stress on the baby, and they would have to monitor him closely, and if there are signs of destress they might have to do an emergency C-section. I was really nervious about it, so I decided not to have him forcefully turned, and we ended up doing a wait and see, and just scheduled a C-section. They double checked his position before the C-section and yep he was still breech. He was born only 5 days before my due date via C-section. I do not think he would have turned on his own because I remember feeling like he was locked against my hip bone, very painful for me to walk and sit, and before I found out he was breech I assumed it was his head, but really it was his butt/feet. I would look at all your options and make the best choice for yourself. Talk to you midwife and ask lots of questions.
Regarding the carpal tunnel, I had that also, I just iced my wrists for 15 min at a time, every few hours. It did help some but was still very sore. I would talk to a Dr about that also to see what other things they might be able to help with that. I'd be nervious getting any injections, but thats your choice. Good Luck with it all!

K., a common misconception is that carpal tunnel starts in the wrist. It does not. It actually starts in the back of the shoulder. If you do exercises SEVERAL times a day, it will help clear it up. Just shrug your shoulders and move them up, down and around, keeping your elbows away from your body. We call it the funky chicken. It really works!
Let us know how things go. Prayers for you and your baby. He will most likely turn before the birth!

i was terrified when my son was breech and needed turned, so one, take a deep breath, in and.......out. great. now, it's really quite simple, your doc or midwife will apply pressure to your abdomen, and kind of guide the baby's movements. they did mine while in the hospital, on monitors and drugs to keep me from going into labor yet, and with an ultrasound machine to monitor the baby's progress and make sure he wasn't under stress. just relax, it was uncomfortable but in the end the contractions are worse than having your baby turned. congrats and good luck!

About the carpal tunnel- I, too, had it during my first pregnancy. It was pretty bad. After my son was a few months old, it went away on it's own (somethiung to do with the hormones flucuating) and it has never returned, even during subsequent pregnancies. I would just wait and see, if you can!

for corporal tunnel you can bend you hand back for 10=15 seconds, then forward.

try wrapping your wrist with an ace bandage or wear a wrist brace, it helped with my pregnancy carpal tunnel. I remember waking up with the numb hand, not fun...good luck

I, too, had something like carpal tunnel. The shot itself is horribly painful, but within a few days, the tingling and numbness go away and your hand is back to normal. I would definitely recommend getting the shot.

I would highly recommend going to a chiropractor. They can help with both things. I've never had carpal tunnel, but I've heard they can help with that pain.

As for as having a possibly breech, posterior, or transverse baby, a chiropractor can also help. There may be something about your body's alignment of you hips and pelvis that is preventing the baby from getting in the right position. They also can do the Webster's technique which is noninvasive and gentle to turn your baby. It is a much better alternative than having your baby turned manually. Give it a shot. It can't hurt, and can possibly do amazing things for you.

Good luck.

Contact an Iyengar yoga instructor they are highly and well trained in streches that greatly relieve and reverse carpal tunnel.

R.

I had the exact same problem, during all three of my pregnancies. I used a brace which releived much of the pain.

As far as Cortisone shots, my doctor refused to give me a cortisone shot during pregnancy and said they would give me a shot after the baby was born if the problem did not clear after giving birth. Well, as soon as two weeks after delivery the carpel tunnel problem cleared right up...I would reccommend purchasing a brace, some pain releiver (Aleve (best) or Tylenol), and ask your husband to message your arm at least once per day for the duration of your pregnancy. I beleive this is the best options during pregnancy.

K.,
I had the same thing my 1st pregnancy - they knew he had turned head up - they tried the inversion but it didn't work. It didn't hurt at all. Two nurses stood on either side of me (I was lying down), and they slowly pushed at upper and lower ends of my belly. Lasted maybe 15 minutes. My stubborn son refused to budge...

I ended up having a C-section because he did not turn around. Not what I wanted but everything turned out OK.

RE the carpal tunnel - also had that while PG...Start taking Cod Liver Oil, and grinding 1 TBLSP flax seeds into a morning smoothie. They both reduce the swelling and you and baby need the Vitamin A & D in the CLO. Don't gag - Vitamin Cottage has lemon flavored and it's easy to get used to.
Mine disappeared in about 7-10 days if I remember right.

Also, the doc gave me a wrist band to sleep with - keeps your wrist from doing those contortions during sleep, improves circulation because it is straight.
Hope this helps,
-B.

My second child was head up a couple of weeks before his due date, so they scheduled an ultrasound one week out and he had turned on his own. They said to be sure to tell them at the hospital to check. My water broke without labor pains and they had me come into the hospital. I told them he was head up at one time and they did an ultrasound as a precaution. Sure enough he was turned with his head up again. I was using the midwives from the practice, but they called in a doctor to turn him. I was scared, but I can honestly say there was absolutely no pain. Guided by an ultrasound, the doctor talked me through it using a jelly on my tummy and he literally flipped in seconds. The funny part was that he had me hold him in place for a couple of hours with the warning that if I didn't do it I would be looking at a C-section. He was born v**inally, but had to be vacummed out becuase he was sunny side up. My daughter was the same way so I not sure if it was a fluck or just the way my body is made. Thank God for epidurals because the back pain in this type of labor is excrutiating! The midwife had given me some exercises to try to get him to come out the right way, but apparently they didn't work.
As for the carpel tunnel, I thought I had it, but when I told my chiropractor she adjusted my arm and wrist and the pain went away almost immediately.

I can only respond to the first request. I have had a baby turned before and I will tell you that it does hurt, but no more than the pain of labor and delivery. They will give you a shot of meds to help relax you, and then the procedure will start. For me they had an ultrasound machine right there to make sure they were putting the baby in the right position. They used the gel from that to help move the baby and keep from giving you "Indian burns" on your skin. I had 2 doctors there. One pushed the baby up out of my pelvis a little and the other did the actually turning. Mainly it was just pushing and pressure to force the baby's head to the position that it needs to be. They would check periodically to make sure that things were okay. Then after it was done they hooked me up to monitors to make sure that I wasn't having any contractions and that baby was doing fine. Once they were convinced that I was okay and baby was too, they let me go home and that was it. There are risks that you should discuss before you have it done, that are minimal but still real and therefore should be addressed. If you want to stay away from a c-section, then I would recommend it---but there is no guarantee that this will keep you from that course. Good luck.
J.

Hi! Congrats on your pregnancy. I had carpal tunnel really badly this last time, my third pregnancy. I am a massage therapist so I already risk that problem with my profession. I would wake up totally numb in my hands some nights....It is due to swelling in your wrist joint...and I found made worse by constantly sleeping on my side with my shoulders scrunched up too. Check your sleep positions, try keeping your arms and hands open (your hands not in a fist). Sometimes I would sleep in a semi sitting postion and that made it better.Drink tons and tons of water to reduce the swelling. I would actually fill up 4 nalgene bottles in the morning and sit them on the kitchen counter so I could visually see how much water I was drinking (or not drinking)and keep track. I would stay away from Cortisone shots...this is only a temporary. Get a massage!! Tell the therapist about the numbing, it can really help to open and increase the blood flow in your shoulders & arms to help alleviate the numbness. Good luck

As far as the position of the baby, have you had an ultrasound? It may be that the baby is already in a good position. If not, if you choose to have the baby turned manually, make sure that there is continuious monitoring of the baby's heartbeat and/or an ultrasound going on while the baby is being turned, there is a danger of the cord being compressed or wrapped around that baby during the turning.

I had really painful carpal tunnel during my frist pregnancy in both hands/wrists, it woke me up at night sometimes too! It is caused by swelling so anti-inflammatory meds such as tylonal may help, so will ice and cold water, try soaking your hands and wrists in cold water for awhile before bedtime. Massage can be a great way to relieve pain and increase bllod flow as well, if you are interested I am a massage therapist at Chubbuck Chiropractic and I have been trained in prenatal massage and have a "preggie pillow". There are splints you can wear too but I never tried those. After your baby is born you may have a complete recovery from your symptoms, I did, but sometimes you can still have carpal tunnel after delivery. Good luck and congrats on your soon to be new baby!

K.,
My daughter was born 12 days early via C-section. My doctor tried to turn her twice...he physically pushes her head down with one hand and pushes her but up with the other hand. Your belly will be lubricated but it hurts like a B!____@____.com Personally I always felt weird pushing on my belly even a little bit but if you want to get a little glimps push your fingers into your belly about 4" that is just a sample. After the second time that she popped (literally popped) back the doctor told me he was doing a c-section...the nurse asked "can't you still deliver naturally even if she's breach" my doctor looked at her and said "only if I was stupid would I do that". I thank god everyday that he wasn't stupid...not only was she breach but she was also doing the splits. After opening me up it took him 3-4 minutes to rearange her to get her out of my belly. She would have died if we had delivered naturally.

Best of luck and all my prayers.
N.

My chiropractor recommended vitamin B6 for carpal tunnel. Check with your midwife about it, and see what she thinks. Best of luck to you! You're almost there!

I'm not sure if you mean the baby is breech (head up by your ribs) or posterior (head down but face would be facing up coming out). I've never gone through an external version (turning the baby), but I know some alternatives or things to try first. When my midwife said my baby was posterior she told me to do the froggy position - on knees with head on ground and bum in air. Also try sitting cross-legged on the floor or doing pelvic rocks. They all help the uterus come forward and give room for the baby to turn. The froggy position helps too because of gravity. My baby turned back to anterior just fine.

As for breech, I'm sure the last two positions would help too. Some chiropractors know the Webster technique to turn a breech. Also, acupuncturists can do moxibustion to turn a breech (burning incense near your feet I think).

I don't have any ideas for your carpal tunnel, sorry.

Hi K.-

I am 36 weeks pregnant with my second child and I have never had to have my baby's position changed, so I cannot give you advice from a personal experience. However, last week I was just talking with my neighbor (who works at the hospital in the mom and baby ward) about this particular subject. She was telling me not to have it done! She said there are a lot of potential complications that she has witnessed. Then, a couple of days after our conversation, she called me when she got home from work to tell me about a young mother who came in and had her baby turned, she went home, and the baby ended up dying. It was so tramatic for the labor and delivery nurse (who was very experienced and present for the turning) she ended up quiting. Anyway, talk with your midwife and discuss the risks. Do what you feel is right for you. :)

I would highly recommend that you see or talk to an acupuncturist, there is a very non invasive way to turn a breech baby if it is in breech. However if you are 8 months pregnant I believe that there is still time for the baby to turn on its own. in regards to carpal tunnel acupuncture and really help with that too. Good luck

on the carpral tunnel...if you have a brace it helps a ton, I had/have it in both wrists. I treated mine in pregnancy with the braces and drinking tons of water so my body didn't retain as much fluids. It got better after having the baby and now it only acts up when I use them a lot for typing or if I'm doing house projects that use a lot of wrist action--I put the braces on for a couple of days and up my water. It takes care of it for me. I've known a few people have the surgery and it wasn't effective--so I don't want to go that route if I can treat it any other way. the wrist braces have really been the best help for me, it's a pain to wear them all the time but not as painful as not.

You might find the info at www.spinningbabies.com useful. Or maybe it's dot org--I can't remember, but if you Googled "Spinning Babies" I'm sure you'd find it. It's all about getting babies to rotate into a textbook anterior occiput position for a simple birth.
My first baby was born posterior with his hands up, and it was a LOT of work. With my second, I was determined to do everything I could to reduce the risk of a compound presentation or a posterior baby. I learned that since the heaviest part of the baby is the back of his head (where his brain is, of course) it's always a good idea to sit leaning slightly forward at the end of your pregnancy so the back of his head will go down and to the front of your pelvis. I also spent a lot of time of my hands and knees, doing pelvic rocks and cleaning my floors ;) to get my baby to fall into a head-down, face-back position naturally. Spinning Babies has a few ideas for encouraging a baby to rotate using other positions and temperature changes (such as a bag of frozen veggies on the top of your belly, to encourage baby to move his head away from the chill).
Any kind of manual rotation from the outside will involve applying pressure, but shouldn't be too painful. It's nothing you can't handle, and if it saves you a complicated birth it's totally worth it.
You still have some weeks left, and there's lots of time for Baby to get into position himself, so I suggest you do what you can but don't stress out too much. If you are working with a skilled and experienced midiwfe, she should know what to do that's low-intervention. . . I surprised she thinks she can't tell the baby's position and I'd bet she will be able to know better at your next appointment.
Sorry about the carpal tunnel. I've heard of this, and heard it goes away as soon as baby is born. . . .I hope you find some relief in the meantime.

Hi K.,
I actually had this procedure done ( the turning) with my first ( who is now 12!). I would reccomend trying this, anything to avoid MAJOR surgery( a cessarian). They give you some medication to relax your muscles, ( we were actually in the hospital just in case) and the Dr. moves the baby with their hands, it did burn a little but it was no big deal. Mine was successful. Good luck!

Hi K.,

While did not have any of my kids turned around in utero, my friend did. She said that it was extremely painful, but I don't know if it was because of her slender frame and large baby or because it felt odd to have the baby moving at such a quick rate. On the bright side, it's probably better to hurt now rather than later from a breech delivery.

For your second question. I used a brace that I picked up at the pharmacy section of my grocery store. I think they cost about 10 dollars. Anyhow it helped me tons during the last months of pregnancy between the extra weight and picking my little two year old. Good luck and I hope you have a smooth and healthy delivery.

Just be sure to take care of the carpal tunnel as soon as you can (I've read the responses you've gotten, and may try some myself!). If you wait too long, even the surgery may not be effective. Good luck.

Hi,

I had trouble with my wrists when I was pregnant too, and I am a dental hygienist, so it caused some trouble. They would be so sore and just hurt, especially at night. I tried a wrist brace but it didn't seem to help. The only thing that I found that kept them from hurting too badly was trying heat and cold. Now, I can't remember which helped the most. It can be really frustrating, but while I was in labor it didn't bother me and was gone as soon as my son was born.
Hang in there!!

My first baby was breech and when they realized that he was, they scheduled me for a version. They make sure to check you and the baby the whole time and told me they would stop the second there was any sign of stress with the baby (Mu little guy was fine the whole time.) Your doctor should do an ultrasound to double-check that your baby is breech. The version did hurt a little for me but mainly when they would push in a spot where I had a stretch-mark. I thought it was worth it though, to give my baby a chance to turn. Unfortunately with me, I had a big baby in there and he couldn't turn. I ended up with a C-section and a 10 lb baby! But, even with as big as he was, they almost got him to turn. And, if you do end up with a C-section, it's not the end of the world (I only say that because I felt like it was -- the hormones of being pregnant don't help in emotional situations (: ) Anyway, my second one was born VBAC so whatever happens, just focus on the new wonderful baby you are welcoming and good luck! Oh and I have two boys too! It is a blast!

I had an external version with my 3rd baby and it was surprisingly easy and not painful at all, although I've read this is not always the case. I had tried lots of other ways to get her to turn to no avail, everything except acupuncture, which was next on my list if the version didn't work. After having 2 unmedicated births, I was not looking forward to a C-section! I also see a midwife (Intermountain Midwifery), so the version was done by a perinatalogist at LDS Hospital. First they confirm the breech position with ultrasound, then moniter you and the baby for awhile, basically like a non-stress test. They then inject you with a medication that temporarily relaxes the muscles of the uterus. They lube up your belly with ultrasound jelly and locate the the head and bum with ultrasound again. Then the doc lays his hands on your belly and 5 seconds later, my baby was turned in the right position. I know it's not always that easy, but mine truly was. My husband and I were very surprised. Afterwards they moniter you for about another hour to make sure the baby tolerated the procedure okay. The biggest risks are causing pre-term labor or distress for the baby which would call for an immediate c-section, which is why the procedure should be done in a hospital equipped to perform emergency c-sections. Hope this helps and feel free to send me a message directly if you have any more questions about it!

Carpal Tunnel ...
My last month of pregnancy I started to swell and first experienced tingling in my thumb and first two fingers. It progressed being more painful at night until it was waking me up at night too. I tried the chiropractor with minimal success because the pain was mostly coming from swelling of the carpal tunnel track not misallignment of the wrist. Still the chiropractor did help some. My doctor recommended that I buy and wear a wrist brace to alleviate the pain. I first only needed to wear it at night and then I wore them during the day as needed. My left hand was worse than the right so I wore the left one almost all the time at the end. You can buy the braces at Target. They cost me around $25 for a set of two. They are sold individually and you can buy more expensive ones that have a removable cover that you can wash which might be a good idea if you had carpal tunnel and a lot of your pregancy left. Be sure to follow your doctor's guidelines on drinking fluids and resting especially if you're having any other swelling because over exerting yourself at the end of pregnancy with swelling as a symptom can be dangerous. Talk to your doctor about monitoring this. I had to cut back home much I was working to keep me and the baby healthy. By the way, post pregnancy, the swelling resolves itself. I have just a bit of tingling in my left hand now and nothing in the right. I am two months post-birth with a beautiful, thriving baby girl! :D

I don't know much about the baby-turning process -- will they do a sono to clarify his position? Midwives are typcially wonderful (mine was!), so I'm sure yours will do only what is necessary. Good luck with that.

As for the carpal tunnel, I believe that is primarily a ligament condition, right? Just after my daughter was born I had significant issues in my right hand/wrist. They called it tendonitis, but a friend recommended to me a natural supplement called Liga-Tend by Country Life. I could barely pick up my tiny little girl at only 7 lbs. Anyway, after several months of pain I noticed major improvment only a few days of using this supplement. I had also been fitted for a brace which on its own did very little good. But again, the supplement helped so quickly.

As you're still pregnant, I would read the fine print or ask someone at your natural health food/vitamin store (like Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage). Hope it helps you, too!

http://www.country-life.com/moreinfo.cfm?Category=19&...

I would not have the baby forced to turn. I was pregnant with twins (which is a whole other ball of wax) but one twin had to be turned after the first one was born. It hurt and I had medicine. He had a difficult delevery and did not breath for the first two minutes after he was born. His apgar scores were very low and had to spend a week in the NICU. I also had a friend whose baby was breech. She did not have the baby turned and it was lucky because he had a birth defect that had gone undected and turning him would have killed him. Find out everything you can about what they want to do so you can make the best decision for you. Good luck.

I cant give much advise and I'm not a doctor, but just food for thought. My little girl didnt turn until a few weeks before she was due, then she did it on her own. It was the most bizarre feeling ever . So I would talk about waiting to see if your little boy will turn on his own when he is ready. Good luck and best wishes.

I think that is weird they already want to turn the baby. I have heard they can turn at any time, especially if you still have a month. I would be cautious about this.

I had the carpal tunnel while pregnant with my third and had no treatment for it. It did get worse right up until the end. My doctor had me wear a hand/wrist brace at night and that kept it from hurting so bad and I was able to sleep as a result. The up side was that as soon as I had my son it was gone and have had no trouble with it since. Good Luck.

See your chiroproactor for carpal tunnel. They can make things better for you.

I got that too but I have IBS and had a flair up/ Joint pain is a symptom of that and the hormone serge. It went away after about two weeks after birth and the hormones calmed down. It is painful but I found making sure to keep it working helped in the end. Stretch it in all diretions breathing into the pain like with yoga. i also used Aspricream messaging.

Hi K.,
Shoot. I just checked and saw you were in Idaho. I was going to recommend a great chiropractor in Castle Rock, CO who has a special certification for pregnant moms and pediatrics - Dr Matt Swager from Back 2 Health Chiropractics. See if you can find someone with similar credentials up there. Chiropractors can often help with carpal tunnel too.

Email me and I'll share some info for your on magnetics that can help with the carpal tunnel. When my Mom was visiting, her hand was also numb and she lost her dexerity. A simple magnetic bracelet did the trick, but be careful not all are created equally. You want to make sure it has a decent gauss strength, infrared and negative ions like the ones offered via Nikken.

I personally would only consider a steroid injection as a last resort and I'm not pregnant. I was in a ski accident and had some herniations in my neck and they wanted to give me an injection in my spine. I said "no thanks" and treated it with magnetics, stretching and chiropractics. The amount of times I wake up with numb hands has gone down significantly. With the steroids, they don't just stay near the site, they travel throughout your body and can cause problems elsewhere. Don't just treat symptoms, treat the cause. Chances are you will be in better shape once you have the baby too.

Good luck.
S.