A young mother charged with murder has told police she hid her pregnancy, gave birth to twin sons at her family's home and killed the infants by smothering their cries so her parents wouldn't hear them.



Police in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, arrested Lindsey Lowe, 25, on Wednesday (local time) after her father discovered one baby's body in a laundry basket.



According to a police affidavit, the mother said she didn't tell her family she was pregnant, but believes she got pregnant in January and never visited a doctor. Police said on Thursday they were trying to identify the father of the twins.



Police said they interviewed Lowe who said she went into labour on Monday evening while on the toilet at her parents' home. She said the first baby fell into the toilet and began to cry.



"Lowe stated that the baby was crying and Lowe did not want her parents to hear and find out about the child," police wrote in the affidavit. "Lowe stated that she put her hand over the child's mouth and she stated that she kept it there until the child was dead, which was a couple of minutes."



Lowe stated that she never checked the sex of the child. Police said both boys appeared to be full term and weighing about 5 pounds (2.27 kilograms) or 6 pounds (2.72 kilograms).



A few minutes later, she gave birth to the second child, who also fell in the toilet. She again put her hand over the baby's mouth and held it there until the baby died, which she said took less time than the first child. She put both babies in the laundry basket and covered them up with blankets.



Lowe, who works at a pediatric dentist office, was charged with first-degree murder and remained in jail on Thursday with no bond. Police said she is undergoing a medical evaluation.



Someone answered a call to Lowe's father but hung up when asked for comment.