The mother of a baby abandoned outside a Saskatoon home in freezing weather has been described by police as a confused and isolated 18-year-old with no supports in the city.

The woman at the centre of a case that shocked the city turned herself in to police Monday night.

"She was upset, extremely confused," Staff Sgt. Kirby Harmon of the Saskatoon police service told reporters Tuesday. "She didn't have supports in place and it added to her bad decision-making."

Baby found on doorstep

The baby girl was found on the back step of Ed and Lee Anderson's home Saturday morning, wrapped in a towel and comforter. The temperature was –29 C.

After police made several appeals for the public's help in finding the mother, they got a call from a woman who was with the mother.

A squad car was sent out and the mother, who has not been named, was taken to the police station and questioned.

Police heard the woman comes from "a difficult background," is not from Saskatoon and has been attending school in the city. By wearing loose clothing and other means, she kept the pregnancy secret from her family and gave birth at home by herself.

She then bundled up the newborn and took it herself to the doorstep of a home in her neighbourhood where she thought the baby would be safe. Outside the Andersons' house, she saw that the light was on and could hear a dog barking.

She put the six-hour-old baby down but didn't ring the doorbell.

"She felt comfortable that somebody would come to the door and see the baby," Harmon said.

Girl saved minutes later

Ed Anderson heard the dog bark, too. He discovered the baby a few minutes later and brought her inside. He and his wife, a registered nurse, cleaned up the baby and called emergency services.

There has been no decision made yet on whether charges will be laid, Harmon said. Police didn't release any information about the father.

The baby is recovering in hospital and is now in the custody of the Community Resources Department. Neighbours have been collecting clothing and donations for the baby girl.

No reunion requested

"All the information I have is that the baby is healthy, full-term and doing well," Harmon said.

The woman didn't say anything about getting the baby back, he said.