Genitourinary pathogens and preterm birth.

Purpose Of Review: The aim is to describe and quantify the association between genitourinary tract infections and preterm birth.

Recent Findings: Recent studies confirm the importance of identifying and treating both asymptomatic and symptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy, which is reflected in current antenatal screening guidelines. These guidelines do not recommend routine screening for other asymptomatic lower genital infections (bacterial vaginosis, trichomonas and gonorrhoea) reflecting inconsistent study results, which may reflect differences in study design, size, diagnostics and the timing of screening in pregnancy.