Martina Levato, 23, gave birth to a son in prison at the weekend but was not even allowed to hold her baby before he was taken away on the orders of a Milan prosecutor.

After a request from the mother and her partner as well as the child's grandparents, a Milan court allowed the woman to see her son once a day until a final ruling can be made.

The prosecutor who ordered the removal of the baby boy has also initiated adoption proceedings, although these will have to be approved by a family court.

Much of the extensive media comment on the subject was critical of the decision not to leave the baby with his mother, at least temporarily.

“Do reasons exist to take a mother's right to hold in her arms the creature she has just brought into the world,” asked Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Levato and her partner Alexander Boattcher, 30, are serving 14-year prison terms for throwing acid on her ex-boyfriend.

Her ex-boyfriend was left with third-degree burns and in danger of losing an eye. During her trial, prosecutors claimed Levato had planned to castrate another ex-boyfriend.