“The hospital is to open an internal investigation for complete clarification of the occurrence,” the source told Lusa, without giving further details.

On Saturday evening a woman wearing the scrubs of a healthcare professional tried to remove a newborn from the hospital's nursery.

A source from the PSP police force said that the 48-year-old woman had entered the room when the baby and its family were there.

The woman “held the baby” but the father found the situation odd and decided to call the police at 7.22 p.m. on Saturday and the woman was then detained, according to the police source.

Police also said that the woman was detained due to the “seriousness of the situation” and will on Monday be brought before Porto's Court of Criminal Instruction.