PALM BAY, Fla. -- The mother of three children found home alone by a cable worker inside a filthy Palm Bay home was rushed to the hospital on Monday, according to police.

Police said 21-year-old Kissanna Bailey was taken to the hospital moments after her arrest. Police said stress may have triggered a pre-existing condition. No other details about her condition were immediately available.

Bailey was arrested after the cable worker went the Dorchester Road home for a scheduled appointment, found the front door open and discovered the children home alone, police said.

The worker told police he found the children -- a pair of 3-year-old twin girls and a 1-year-old girl -- inside the home, police said.

The worker said the house was filthy, the children had soiled diapers, the bathroom doors had been locked and the refrigerator was roped shut, according to police.

"The mother told me the reason that was done was because (the children are) always getting into things and that she was afraid they were going to get hurt," said Officer Sam Ivey.

Police said the children were quiet and hungry when they were discovered at the house, but they were otherwise healthy.

Police said Bailey told them she was in court Monday morning regarding a custody issue, but she gave no reason for why the children had been left alone.

In court on Tuesday, Bailey tearfully tried to explain herself, but the judge cut her off. Her bond was set at $12,000 and she can only have contact with her kids if it is supervised.

"It's not good," said neighbor Stephanie Gregory. "I couldn't imagine doing it, can't imagine someone doing that to their kids."

Bailey has a history with the Florida Department of Children and Families that spans a three-year period, but the cases have all been closed, and DCF declined to provide specific information.

When Local 6's cameras waited to see her transported to jail in a police car, the ambulance arrived instead and she was taken to a hospital.

Becki Green, another mother living in the same neighborhood, said learning the children had been left alone without food was hard to believe.

"We're not allowed to do that to animals, much less children," said Becki Green. "I hope somebody helps her in some way."

Neighbor Tammy Thurber said she wasn't surprised to hear Bailey had left her children alone for what police estimated was at least an hour and a half.

"I've seen the kids out playing at 10:30 at night on the swing set and running up and down the street," Thurber said. "I called the cops here one time because of it. It's crazy."

Police said once Bailey is released from the hospital, she will be taken to jail.

DCF placed Bailey's three children in the custody of relatives while the agency investigates.