The Times has been inundated with letters and phone calls after publishing a picture of a newborn baby girl who was burned and dumped in open veld in Soweto on Tuesday.

Though a number of readers commended the paper for its courage in publishing the picture, others said we had gone too far.

Harry Moultrie, Director of Enhancing Children's HIV Outcomes , said The Times "should have waited for an autopsy to establish whether the infant died as a result or a termination [abortion], was still-born, died of exposure or was killed".

The director of Media Monitoring Africa, William Bird, said: "In deciding to publish the image on the front page, [we] maintain that The Times failed in its obligation to minimise harm. By opting for the shock factor, The Times ignored the emotional distress that the image might cause children or adults who have experienced infant-related trauma."

But other readers commended the paper, saying nothing should be hidden and that such a picture represented the worst in our society and the only way to reach a solution was to expose it.

One reader, Jean, said in his letter: "Congratulations for giving a daily front page dose of what our very sick society is capable of."

"Though I was horrified by your front page photo," wrote an anonymous reader, "I was impressed by your bravery and cried at the waste of a life. What human does this to a child in this day and age?"

Samantha suggested that "We need to take a step back on the abandonment of babies and focus on why these women are pregnant in the first place: pathetic sentences for rapists, non-existent sex education, poor contraceptive access. The shame of this picture lies firmly at the feet of the government. Get off the gravy train and start helping your people!"

BK Makgoka, wrote: "The picture of a baby corpse on the front page is horrible: it denigrates the quality of your paper. It shows your lack of respect for the dead. The picture should have been inside. "

Vanessa, wrote: "Instead of printing disturbing pictures, why not provide more information for these young women on how to get help."