An adverse maternal environment, such as diabetes during pregnancy, impacts fetal and placental development, which is associated with increased risk of metabolic diseases in offspring later in life (Fetita et al. 2006; Dabelea and Crume 2011; Damm et al. 2016; Friedman 2018). The present study demonstrates that an increase in cord blood resistin found in the presence of maternal diabetes may play a role in placental mitochondrial biogenesis and function.