A mother has described the shock she felt on discovering her son had been circumcised without her permission.
The anonymous mother, from Nottingham in the UK, said she found blood in her son’s nappy.
“I opened the nappy and I ended up having to leave the room because I felt hysterical,” the mother told BBC News.
“It was just awful really, it wasn’t very nice, there was all blood there and stuff.”
The baby boy was circumcised in July 2013 at three months old while reportedly staying with his Muslim paternal grandparents.
Three people have now been arrested, however, the Nottingham mother first approached authorities in 2014.
A 44-year-old man and 47-year-old woman believed to be the boy's paternal grandparents are suspects.
A 61-year-old man - thought to be a doctor - has also been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent, according to the BBC.
All three suspects have been released pending further investigation, police said.
Listen: Why are parents so stressed? (post continues below)
Circumcision of males is legal in Australia but the procedure is only to be performed by a medical practitioner.
"The legal acceptance in Australia and New Zealand is based on clearly established rights of parents to make decisions about medical treatment for their children," says the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) policy statement on circumcision.
"Society may however decide to place limitations on the scope of such parental choices if significant harm results from such choices."
The report states that newborn and infant male circumcision is legal and generally considered an "ethical procedure".
Circumcision has been undertaken for religious and cultural reasons for many thousands of years but in Australia and New Zealand, the rate has fallen in recent times.
It is estimated that currently 10-20 per cent of newborn male infants are circumcised, according to the RACP.
How do you feel about circumcision?
Top Comments
I think people find it hard to not care because if a doctor or paediatrician can't even tell you where to go , or will not do it themselves, it would seem it is completely unnecessary. I find the "they won't remember" argument soo heartbreaking. I could do a hell of a lot of painful things to my little man that he wouldn't remember... it doesn't mean it's ok. He feels everything right now, that's for sure.
I believe most parents make their decisions with the best intentions...I wont argue that. I know beautiful parents who have circumcised their sons. I haven't said anything about it to them. However I really hope one day we will look back and be able to say that we are glad that it doesn't happen anymore.
The thought of cutting the most sensitive part of an innocent baby reduces me to tears. Sorry if I offend... like I said, I'm sure parents are doing what they believe is best. That's my opinion.
No, just no. Have you ever seen an infant boy, with his limbs tied down and him screaming hysterically in distress as they pull and snip and mutilate his sensitive little penis? It is horrific, the sound the child is making is not one you ever want to hear. Just like FGM, this barbaric practice needs to be criminalised. If a man wants to be circumcised due to religious reasons, let him make a fully informed choice with his own consent at 18. If that had been my baby boy and the paternal grandparents had mutilated him I would be incandescent with rage - I would sue them civilly, charge them criminally and deny them the chance to have any contact ever with their grandson. Good on the mother for pursuing the criminal charges.