UPDATED 4:00pm: A Cairns mother has been charged with murder over the deaths of eight children, including seven of her own.

The ABC says 37-year-old Mersane Warria was charged today.

She remains under police guard at Cairns Hospital recovering from stab wounds.

The case is expected to be heard at the Cairns Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Police are investigating if Warria was using ice, before eight children were killed in her Cairns home.

Warria remains under police guard at Cairns Hospital, where she's in a stable condition recovering from stab wounds.

Pathologists are continuing to conduct autopsies on the children aged two years to 14 whose bodies were found at the 37-year-old's home on Friday.

The results of autopsies of the eight children could be known as early as today.