Why does my vagina smell like maple syrup?

Bacterial vaginosis?: The main cause of strong vaginal odor is bacterial vaginosis, an overgrowth of mostly normal bacteria. Typically the odor is fishy, but odor is very subjective and one person's "maple syrup" may be another's "fishy". Sometimes there is increased discharge. Trichomonas causes similar odor, and other STDs like gonorrhea or chlamydia are more common in BV. See a doctor soon to check it out.