Anneri du Plessis at Birth Natural

To all the beautiful and wonderful moms out there. May you be blessed and know how much your creator love and care for you. 💗

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There is a LOT we can learn from the collaborative care model in Holland! 

🔥 Hear more about how Dr. Deurloo and his team are making waves of change to give the most well-rounded and individualized care to families, including offering the MAC (maternal assisted cesarean) as a healing cesarean option. 

🎧 Listen to Episode 452 of The VBAC Link podcast on Apple/Spotify or watch on Youtube. Link in bio!


MAC
VBAC
Maternal Assisted Cesarean

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Iron alone does not carry oxygen. Copper makes iron usable. This is one of the most overlooked bottlenecks in human physiology.

Iron forms hemoglobin, the molecule that binds oxygen.
But copper is required to move iron into circulation and load it onto transferrin via copper-dependent enzymes (ceruloplasmin, hephaestin).

Without copper:
- Iron gets trapped in tissues
- Transferrin saturation drops
-Red blood cell production falters
→ functional iron deficiency can occur even when iron intake or ferritin looks “normal.”

This is why some people:
- Don’t respond to iron supplements
- Feel fatigued despite “normal labs”
- Develop anemia-like symptoms with no clear cause

🧬 The biology:

Iron = oxygen binding (hemoglobin, myoglobin)

Copper = iron mobilization + export + transport

Both are required for effective oxygen delivery

No copper → iron can’t move
No iron → oxygen can’t bind
The system fails if either is missing.

📊 RDAs - these are baseline (not therapeutic)

Iron
- Men & postmenopausal women: 8 mg/day
- Premenopausal women: 18 mg/day

Copper
- Adults: 0.9 mg/day

Modern diets often meet iron intake but miss copper, especially with:
- High zinc intake
- Low organ meat or seafood consumption
- High refined food intake

🍽️ Food-first sources

Iron-rich foods
- Red meat
- Liver
- Shellfish
- Eggs

Copper-rich foods
- Liver
- Oysters & shellfish
- Cocoa / dark chocolate
- Nuts & seeds

Notably: many “iron-rich” diets are copper-poor.

Practical protocol:

If iron deficiency or fatigue is suspected and copper intake is low:

Iron: 8–18 mg/day (more is definitely not better with iron)

Copper: ~1 mg/day (do not exceed 2 mg/day long-term without supervision)

Zinc: If supplementing zinc, maintain a ~10:1 zinc:copper ratio

Never megadose iron without considering copper status.

⚠️ Important caveats

Iron overload is harmful, supplementation should be guided by labs

Copper deficiency can exist even with “normal” serum copper

Inflammation can mask both iron and copper status

Oxygen transport is a two-mineral system. Iron carries oxygen. Copper makes that possible.

Good morning ladies!
Time for a new course. Please note that the course is not about hypnosis but learning about self-relaxation and staying in the rest and digest nervous system in labour. It is a full prenatal course. The resources for My birthing kit is for sale on the website www.mybirthingkit.com it cost R375 and is deductible from the total amount for the course. Most medical aids pay for the course. Clients without medical aid may get a small discount on the course. Contact me and ask. I am planning a social get together for all moms to be. Watch this space....

Good morning ladies!
New course dates following soon!