Carpal tunnel causes numbness in the thumb and adjacent fingers.  It doesn't
numb the pinky or the pinky side of the ring finger.  It is helped by
maintaining the wrists in a neutral or slightly extended back position.
This opens the "carpal tunnel" which expands the limited space the nerve
must pass through. This can be accomplished with the use of a wrist brace.
I know something personally about this as I developed the problem with my
first pregnancy and wore wrist braces while caring for my son for several
months.  It can be done.  They don't have to be worn continuously to be
helpful; mom can take them off when she needs some increased flexibility and
just put them back on as soon as possible.  They are especially helpful if
worn while sleeping.  I wore a brace that looked like the top one on this
web page 20 years ago.  There are probably better ones now.
http://www.painreliever.com/sct122.html

Many moms will hold their wrist flexed forward while holding their baby to
the breast.  They can substitute a rolled baby blanket or small wedges of a
moderately firm foam for mom's hands after baby is latched.   Moms with
nerve problems in hands or arms would benefit greatly from a sling and a
good breastfeeding pillow that straps around her waist.  There are many
other things along the lines of medical, vitamin and nutritional therapy
that can be done to help carpal tunnel, lots of information is available on
the web.  I refer you to
http://www.mediasphera.aha.ru/reprod/97/2/e2-97ref.htm for an abstract on
carpal tunnel during lactation.  Pregnancy and lactation can contribute to
the problem but as usual weaning doesn't have to be the answer. I found
these articles interesting too:
http://www.state.wv.us/bep/WC/Medical/trtguide/treat/carptun.htm
http://www2.parentsoup.com/pregnancybooks/month6/0,5797,,00.html
http://www.bettahealth.com.au/freedom/C.html#CTS


The numb arms may not be caused by carpal tunnel but may be from an
additional nerve problem.  She needs a good diagnosis in order to get a good
treatment.  I would suggest the OB is NOT the one to make this diagnosis;
I'd suggest this even if he had not already made a fool of himself by
proposing weaning as the first "treatment" or pumping twice a night as the
second "treatment".  Do you think he has a clue about supply and demand or a
new mom's sleep needs???  I'd see a breastfeeding friendly neurologist,
orthopedist, hand doctor or chiropractor, depending on mom's normal
inclinations toward types of medical providers.  Personally, I'd try the
chiropractor first.  There are pillows that support the normal curve of the
neck while sleeping on the back.  I myself use a "Therapeutic Pillow"
http://www.painreliever.com/ther.htmlThere which can be seen on this web
page.  I was measured for it by my chiropractor so I don't necessarily
recommend just buying it online but include the web page so you can see it.
What I like about it for this mom is the way it can support her neck on her
back and on her side for those night time feedings.  There are arch type
"pillows" that allow side sleeping while not placing pressure on the arm.
Here is a web page of one of them http://www.bodybridge.com/therarc.html.
They might take enough pressure off her arm to reduce her problems.  She may
also benefit from back sleeping with some rolled baby blankets tucked in
next to her to take some of the weight of her breasts off her arms.

Meanwhile, in addition to avoiding flexed wrists and pressure on her arms
she should avoid repetitive movements or things that vibrate her hands as
well as things that use her hands or arms more than necessary.  This is not
the time to do a lot of gardening or hand kneading of bread dough.  :-)
Carpal tunnel and other nerve problems are partly inflammatory responses and
if activity can decrease inflammation will also decrease.

Carla

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