Q&A: I feel numbness in my sternum. Is this normal?

by Dr. Gerard M. DiLeo

I am 28 weeks pregnant and sometimes when I am sitting at my desk or trying to sleep on my right side, my chest at the sternum (where my underwire bra meets at the center), feels like it's "going to sleep". It's a funny buzzy/tingly sensation that usually goes away by shifting positions. (I don't sleep in my bra.)

What causes this and is it a warning of some kind? It gets really hard to only sleep on my left side at night.

Thanks.

Sounds like a weird, but harmless, swelling to me, the cure for which will be delivery. I would mention it to your doctor just in case it's some unusual presentation of heart disease (unlikely, but possible). Sometimes a phenomenon called a cervical rib can compress circulation, and the treatment's the same--delivery, and harmless till then.

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