Police in Athens were yesterday questioning a 24-year-old Greek woman believed to have abandoned her newly born child under a bush near her home in Aspropyrgos, northwest of Athens, just hours after its birth.

The woman, who is believed to be mentally unstable, visited a local hospital yesterday to receive medical attention after having given birth to a son on Monday without the assistance of a doctor. She then revealed the whereabouts of the baby and took police to the spot. There were no reports on the state of the infant’s health.

According to officers, the woman had visited a different hospital on Monday when she was having labor pains but left without seeing a doctor as there had been too many people waiting in line.

It was unclear yesterday whether the woman was a member of the large Roma community living in Aspropyrgos.