One of the, possibly preventable, causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality is vaginal infections which is relatively common during pregnancy. Although most infections do not have serious consequences for obstetric or perinatal outcomes, some do. Most congenital infections occur after an asymptomatic infection during pregnancy in the mother and there are usually no symptoms or signs of infection in the newborn either. It may be weeks, months or even years before damage in the child first becomes apparent. The justification of screening for specific infections in pregnancy is to prevent or reduce the adverse consequences of these infections for the fetus or newborn, through treatment, or for the mother through identification and treatment women early in pregnancy or termination of the pregnancy to reduce transmission of infection from mother to child, or to prevent an adverse outcome in the infant.