The metabolism of copper during pregnancy —a review

Adequate copper supplies are essential for normal foetal development. During pregnancy, many changes occur in copper levels and transport in both mother and foetus. Copper levels in maternal serum rise, more or less in parallel with increases in serum ceruloplasmin. At the same time, total body copper levels increase, but not in the tissues normally associated with copper homeostasis. The placental transport system changes during development, increasing during the latter stages and resulting in the transport of more copper towards the end of gestation than earlier in pregnancy. Most of the copper transferred across the placenta is found in the foetal liver and during pregnancy serum levels in the foetus actually drop. This review examines these changes and relates the observations to changes in copper metabolism in the developing foetus.