U.S. families puzzled by tighter China adoptions

Youtz said the rapid growth of China's economy had also sparked a social change, making it more acceptable and affordable for Chinese families to adopt.

"I think also it's China's self-image," he said. "I think that they feel a modern country shouldn't have lots of children that they can't take care of themselves."

Linda Ankrom, of western New Jersey, said the new criteria would have stopped her adopting her two Chinese daughters because her husband, Jim, was over the new cut-off age of 50.

"As far as China curbing the amount of international adoptions, they have been proposing to do that for a long while. As China becomes more affluent, they want to show the world that they can take care of their own children. They have been encouraging more Chinese citizens to adopt," Ankrom said.

SUPPLY VS DEMAND

Wu, of the Gladney Center, said fewer children were available for international adoption because of an increase in domestic adoptions in China and a crackdown on baby trafficking.

"In the past (Chinese orphanages) tried to spread the word, telling people if they see a baby in a public place or by the side of the road send the baby to us. Now they don't do that anymore," Wu said. "They don't actively look for babies."

The sale of children, and women, is a nationwide problem in China, where stringent rules on family planning allow couples to have just one child, bolstering a traditional bias for male offspring -- seen as the mainstay for elderly parents -- and resulting in abortions, killings or abandonment of baby girls.

While some U.S. parents don't believe China's claim that there is a shortage of children available for foreign adoptions, Wu said a loosening of the one-child policy and the economic boom in China had also increased domestic adoptions.

Among the 2,400 members of Families with Children from China, Youtz said there had been some "anxiety and unhappiness" at the adoption changes, particularly among single parents, who he estimated made up 20 to 30 percent of the group.

But Nancy Haddad, a 53-year-old retired single mother of four adopted children -- two from China and two from Russia, believes China's adoption changes should not be questioned.

"They want to protect their children, they want to do what's best for their children. Who are we to question that," said the former high school teacher, who lives in Beaver Fall, 45 miles north of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

"I'm not angry about the rules, but I'm sad for the people who are going to say 'I can't do this' and walk away, because there are so many babies (available for adoption) elsewhere in the world," she said.