Oh dear, hang in there, week 36 is so tough especially when you cannot even sleep properly! What you are describing sounds very much like pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome, where all that fluid retention builds up pressure on the nerve running through your wrist, and it hits the thumb, index, and middle fingers hardest, the coldness on top of the numbness is really uncomfortable and I totally get how distressing it feels. Someone in my mum group mentioned that sleeping with a wrist splint (the kind that keeps your wrist straight and neutral) actually helped a lot, though honestly for me personally it felt awkward at first and took a few nights to get used to before I noticed any difference. Elevating your hand on a pillow when lying down can also help reduce the swelling a little, and some mums found that avoiding resting their wrist bent under their pillow made a real difference overnight. Since your baby has already descended and you are so close to delivery, the good news is this usually resolves quite quickly after birth once the fluid clears, but given how severe yours is, please do mention it at your next appointment or even call your gynae sooner, because they can refer you to check that nothing else is going on with circulation.
Read more
