Four abandoned babies have been received by Nanjing Children's Welfare Institution since it opened Jiangsu province's first "safe haven" for such infants on Tuesday.

Three of the babies are boys, one of whom has been sent to a hospital for treatment. The others will undergo further health checks by medical workers at the institution.

Zhu Xueying, a worker in the nursing department, said the institution has seen more abandoned babies compared with the same period last year.

Setting up the safe haven has triggered fears among the public that it may encourage more parents to abandon their babies.

Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, set up China's first safe haven in 2011 and since then, 19 provinces have built, or plan to build, safe havens for abandoned children.