Background. Health literacy is a critical determinant of women’s and children’s health and therefore has immense consequences for the health of society as well. Evidence from epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies indicates that unhealthy lifestyles and risky behavioural habits of parents before conception and during pregnancy influence the etiology of various health defects. Decreasing primary risk factors, practicing physical wellness, monitoring physiological markers and preparing for labour, breastfeeding and newborn care should be the main parental responsibilities during the prenatal period. Methods. Our study focused on specifying the main determinants of health literacy among 360 pregnant Czech women by using an anonymous questionnaire and selected anthropometric data of mothers. The criteria for study participation produced a sample representing 1.41% of Czech women in labour during a given 2012 reference period. Results. Despite quite adequate knowledge of both risks and supporting factors for pregnancy and foetal development, the lifestyles of a majority of the women surveyed were far from optimum: only 30% reported good dietary and physical activity habits, 24% were active or passive smokers and one third of the women occasionally drank alcohol, more often among those who were university educated. Conclusion. Our results have confirmed previously published data noting that health literacy and a healthier lifestyle of pregnant women are associated with a higher level of education (except for alcohol drinking) and with contact with a midwife (in some examined parameters) in prenatal courses Uvod. Zdravstvena pismenost je ključna determinanta zdravja žensk in otrok, ki ima ogromne posledice tudi na zdravje družbe. Dokazi iz epidemioloških, kliničnih in eksperimentalnih študij kažejo, da nezdravi življenjski slogi ter tvegano vedenje staršev pred zanositvijo in med nosečnostjo vplivajo na etiologijo različnih zdravstvenih okvar. Zmanjševanje dejavnikov tveganja, skrb za fizično dobro počutje, spremljanje fizioloških markerjev ter priprava na porod, dojenje in nego novorojenčka bi morali biti glavna odgovornost staršev v predporodnem obdobju. Metode. Naša študija je bila namenjena določitvi glavnih determinant zdravstvene pismenosti med 360 češkimi nosečnicami s pomočjo anonimnega vprašalnika in izbranih antropometričnih podatkov o materah. Na podlagi meril za sodelovanje v študiji je bil izbran vzorec, ki je predstavljal 1,41 % nosečih žensk na Češkem v zadevnem obdobju leta 2012. Rezultati. Kljub dokaj dobremu poznavanju tveganj in podpornih dejavnikov za nosečnost in razvoj zarodka so se življenjski slogi večine žensk, vključenih v raziskavo, močno razlikovali od optimalnih: samo 30 % jih je poročalo o dobrih prehranskih navadah in telesni aktivnosti, 24 % je bilo aktivnih ali pasivnih kadilk, ena tretjina žensk je občasno pila alkohol, pogosteje univerzitetno izobražene. Zaključki. Naši rezultati so potrdili predhodno objavljene podatke, ki kažejo, da sta zdravstvena pismenost in bolj zdrav življenjski slog nosečnic povezana z višjo stopnjo izobrazbe (razen pitja alkohola) in stikom z babico (pri nekaterih proučenih parametrih) na predporodnih tečajih