Women are more vulnerable in health and family planning and this vulnerability is
more in–depth in coastal area. The study was done to determine the reproductive
characteristics and nutritional status of women in coastal area. It was conducted in
Moheshkhali upazila of Cox’s Bazar district in 2013 among 220 purposively selected
coastal women of reproductive age. Face to face interview was done through pretested
questionnaire. Average age of the respondents was 26.5 years. Almost 60% of
them were Muslims and 44% were illiterate. The average monthly family income
and family size was Tk-6968.18 and 5.8 respectively. More than half (56%) of the
respondents had history of regular use of contraceptives and oral pill was the most
common type of contraceptive. Average number of children was 2.95. More than half
of them (54%) had history of home delivery. More than one-third (34%) of them
were under nourished. Nutritional status was significantly associated with income
(p<0.05). Majority of them got early marriage (70%) but early marriage was not
significantly associated with their nutritional status. Age at first pregnancy and parity
of the respondents were in significant state with the nutritional status of women of
coastal area (p<0.05). Socio-demographic disparity should be reduced to improve the
nutritional status by improving the reproductive health of coastal women.