The Associated Press

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio - Motherhood snuck up on Linda Erwin-Hutchins.

She began experiencing abdominal pains early Thursday, and seven hours later - as an ambulance was arriving at her home - gave birth to a baby girl.

"It is such a big shock. There was nothing to indicate I was pregnant," Mrs. Erwin-Hutchins said Friday from Mary Rutan Hospital. "I was never ill. I never gained weight. I never got tired. My husband has always told me I'm just not attuned to my own body."

Mrs. Erwin-Hutchins, a 41-year-old city councilwoman, said that even though she and her husband, David, were not trying to have children, they are both delighted. They have been married for 10 years and have no other children.

Caitlin Meryl is 5 pounds, 1 ounce, healthy and appears to be a couple of weeks shy of full term, Mrs. Erwin-Hutchins said.

"It is an unbelievable story," she said.

Mrs. Erwin-Hutchins said she began to experience the pains about 1:30 a.m. Thursday and they just kept getting worse.

When the pain got too bad, she called the ambulance at 8:49 a.m. As the paramedics were arriving, she delivered the baby.

"When I realized what it was, it was too unbelievable," she said.

Her husband raced home, to find his wife and newborn daughter.

"His eyes were as big as saucers," Mrs. Erwin-Hutchins said.