Fetal exposure to pre-eclampsia (PE) and gestational diabetes (GDM) in utero is strongly associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance in later life, and accumulating evidence suggests this may be a consequence of fetal programming.Notably, offspring of mothers with GDM exhibit elevated blood pressure and reduced endothelium-dependent reactivity.We previously reported abnormal NO production,insulin resistance and reduced cell proliferation in fetal umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) from GDM pregnancies, and in parallel studies with fetal cells from PE pregnancies identified abnormalities in NO production and regulation of [Ca2+].