Guangdong authorities shut down a shelter home for unwanted babies in Guangzhou city after it took in 262 infants since it opened in January.

The temporary closure of the "baby hatch" was enforced on Sunday after the welfare home exceeded its capacity to handle the increasing ward.

Infant arrivals at the Guangzhou City Welfare Center (GCWC) were higher than those at other baby shelters around the country since it opened in the last week of January.

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The shelter's director, Xu Jiu, said they were facing a shortage of staff, rooms and beds because of the unexpected volume of abandoned babies that came in during their one and a half months of operation.

Most of the abandoned children are afflicted with serious birth defects ranging from cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome and congenital heart defect, according to the Bureau of Civil Affairs in the Municipality of Guangzhou.

The break in intake would allow the shelter to focus on treating and finding homes for the children who are already in, Xu said.

During the suspension period, the GCWC will only receive abandoned infants sent by the police.

It will resume normal operations when the situation improves, according to Zhuang Yuequn, director of the Bureau of Civil Affairs of Guangzhou.

China's first "baby hatch" was established in Shijiazhuang city, capital of Hebei Province in June 2011. Currently, there are 25 "baby hatches" in 10 provinces across the country.

It allows mothers to anonymously leave their babies on the door steps of shelter homes where they stand a better chance of being cared for than if they are abandoned on the streets.

Despite its good intent, the "baby hatch" program is hounded by controversy. Some people believe the facility may send a wrong message to society.  China has a law that criminalizes abandonment of children.

"The government should crack down on the crime of abandoning children, instead of publicly setting up facilities for parents to abandon their babies. It is encouraging the practice and may even lead some disadvantaged families to abandon their children," said a resident of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

Some deputies also aired their concern over the "safe haven" project during the recently concluded annual legislature's session in Beijing.

Chen Shu, a magazine editor, suggested that government should look into genetic conditions that bring about unwanted sick babies rather than setting up safe havens for those babies.

Chen proposed that government provide a premarital examination service for couples in order to lower the rate of occurrence of birth defects.