NEW YORK (REUTERS) - A female worker stabbed three babies, two of whom are less than a month old, at a home-based daycare centre in New York City on Friday (Sept 21) before slashing her own wrists and being taken into custody, police said.

The unidentified woman, age 52, who also stabbed two adults in the predawn incident in the borough of Queens, was in stable condition, Juanita Holmes, assistant chief of patrol for the New York City Police Department, said at a news conference.

Police did not have any details on a possible motive.

Of the babies stabbed, there were two girls and one boy, police said. All three were hospitalised and listed in serious but stable condition.

Prosecutors said they were aged 13 days, 22 days and 33 days.

The woman also stabbed a 31-year-old man, believed to be the father of one of the children, and a woman at the overnight nursery in Flushing, known as Mei Xin Care.

A bloody kitchen knife and meat cleaver were found at the scene, police said.

Prosecutors said the woman who was stabbed is 63. Police earlier described both adult victims as being in their 30s.

"We pray that all of the victims will be fine and will survive these injuries. We are hoping these young babies - small and so very fragile - are also strong enough to overcome this horrible act of senseless violence," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

Police said nine children and several parents were at the private home when the attack occurred.

Both of the adults who were stabbed live at the home, a police spokesman said, adding that the assailant worked at the nursery but did not live there.

Brown said the alleged attacker was in custody at a nearby hospital undergoing a psychiatric evaluation as well as treatment for what appeared to be self-inflicted wounds.