Abandoned ‘baby hatch’ scheme suspended in southern Chinese city

By Grace Li HONG KONG (Reuters) – 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 city’s Bureau of Civil Affairs. “Due to an increasing number of abandoned babies at the baby hatch, the orphanage’s ability to receive those babies has reached the limit,” said Xu Jiu, director of Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute, at a briefing.