A pedestrian runs past the suspended baby hatch, where abandoned new born babies could be deposited, in Guangzhou city, south Chinas Guangdong province, 16 March 2014. Chinese authorities have suspended operations at a baby hatch, where anonymous mothers can safely abandoned new-born babies, in the city of Guangzhou as a surge in the number of infants has overwhelmed the center which only opened in late January. Many Chinese cities have set up baby hatches, which consist of an incubator and a delayed alarm, to protect unwanted newborns in a country where strict family planning laws have been blamed for the high number of baby girls being abandoned. The baby hatch in Guangzhou which opened on January 28 has so far received 262 abandoned babies, 148 boys and 114 girls, according to the citys Bureau of Civil Affairs. All the babies suffered from diseases, including 110 cases of cerebral palsy, 39 cases of Downs syndrome, and 32 cases of congenital heart disease, the bureau said. Due to an increasing number of abandoned babies at the baby hatch, the orphanages ability to receive those babies has reached the limit, said Xu Jiu, director of Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute, at a briefing.
