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Abstract

The present study at a micro level attempts to distinguish between “demand” and “need” of health care services with reference to a specific health care service that is Antenatal Care services provided in a Tehsil under North & Middle Andaman district in Andaman Islands. The trend reflects that though there has been an increase in the cases registered for ANC services, yet there is an absence of symmetry between the cases registered and those who have availed three check-ups. The reason being, that the pregnant women in general are unable to distinguish the difference between “need “and “demand”. They fail to understand the need for ANC checkups, which is more normative in nature to prevent any negative impact on the mother and unborn child. Instead most of them demand these services only when they feel discomfort. The author therefore suggests that a more focused approach, some mechanism to assess the effectiveness of counselling along with the involvement of people is needed.