Poor nutrition during pregnancy is known to impair foetal development and increase the risk of
chronic disease in offspring. Both macronutrients and
micronutrients are required for a healthy pregnancy although significantly less is understood about the role of
micronutrients in the programming of
chronic disease. This is despite the fact that modern calorie rich diets are often also deficient in key
micronutrients. The importance of
micronutrients in gestational disorders is clearly understood but how they impact long term disease in humans requires further investigation. In contrast, animal studies have demonstrated how diets high or low in specific
micronutrients influence offspring physiology. Many of these studies highlight the importance of the placenta in determining disease risk. This review will explore the effects of individual
vitamins, minerals and
trace elements on offspring disease outcomes and discuss several key placental adaptations that are affected by multiple
micronutrients. These placental adaptations include
micronutrient induced dysregulation of oxidative stress, altered methyl donor availability and its impact on epigenetic mechanisms as well as endocrine dysfunction. Critical gaps in our current knowledge and the relative importance of different
micronutrients at different gestational ages will also be highlighted. Finally, this review will discuss the need for further studies to characterise the
micronutrient status of Australian women of reproductive age and correlate
micronutrient status to placental adaptations,
pregnancy complications and offspring disease.