A newborn baby has been abandoned in a hospital with a message written by his heartbroken mum saying she loves him but is unable to care for him.
The one-week-old boy named Enea, weighing 2.6kg, was left on Easter Sunday in the Cradle for Life (Culla per la Vita) of the Mangiagalli clinic, part of the Milan Polyclinic, in northern Italy.
A letter written by his mother, in which she said the baby is "super healthy" and all the tests he had undergone at the hospital showed everything was fine, was left with little Enea.
The mum also wrote words of affection for the baby, saying how much she loves him but adding that unfortunately, she cannot care for him.
The heartbreaking message reads: "Hello, my name is Enea. I was born in hospital because my mum wanted to make sure everything was fine and wanted to be together for as long as possible.
"My mum loves me but she cannot take care of me."
Fabio Mosca, director of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care at the Milan Polyclinic, said that since the baby was abandoned, several aspiring parents have come forward saying they wanted to take care of him.
However, a court will need to establish when the baby can be adopted.
The director told the Italian news agency Ansa: "Little Enea will stay with us for the time necessary for the Juvenile Court to entrust him to a suitable family, usually a few weeks are enough."
He added that the baby's mum did not give her name or any information about where Enea was born.
He said: "She didn't give her name and it's not our duty to find out who she is or where Enea was born."
The Cradle for Life was introduced at the Milan hospital in 2007 - and this is the third time it has been used, Mr Mosca said.
It was created in a bid to allow mums to give birth in safety and anonymously while ensuring the health of the baby is protected - and avoid that newborns are abandoned in unsuitable places such as in the street or in rubbish bins.
Mr Mosca said that in this case, it appeared that Enea's mum wanted to ensure her little one would get a better future than the one she could have given him.
He added: "A mother who abandons her child for this reason experiences a difficulty that we have not understood and which, in rich Milan, should make everyone think.
"Hers is a lucid letter that expresses an unease and an awareness, of not being able to offer the best to your child."
Doctors and nurses at the hospital will continue to care for Enea until a family who can adopt him is found.
Mr Mosca said that Enea is now pampered and drinks milk from the baby bottle easily.
He said that so far, hospital tests have shown that the baby boy is well and healthy.
But the director also launched an appeal to Enea's mum saying that if she changes her mind and wants to get her baby back, she can do so without facing any consequences.
Mr Mosca said: "I would like to say that his young mother still has time to rethink and come back to get him, without consequences.
"We didn't understand that she needed help but now she won't feel alone, we will be able to help her.
"She doesn't need to worry, her gesture of leaving this baby in a safe place already shows the love she has had for her son.
"The healthcare world, the institutions, the social services were not able to grasp her signs of discomfort - but there is time to recover."
