WASHINGTON » Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who won a second term in the U.S. House two weeks ago, gave birth Tuesday to a daughter: Abigail O‘ka­lani Bowls­bey.

The child’s arrival, announced by the lawmaker’s office Thursday, came a few weeks before her due date.

"My husband Bryan and I are thrilled to announce that we are the proud parents of a baby girl," Duckworth, D-Ill., said in a statement. "Abi­gail O‘ka­lani Bowls­bey was born on Nov. 18. Bryan and I were deeply honored that Senator Akaka acted as Hawaiian elder and selected her middle name."

Daniel Akaka, a Demo­crat, served as a senator from Hawaii until 2013.

Duckworth, 46, who was born in Thailand, spent part of her youth in Hawaii and graduated from McKinley High School. Her mother is Thai and her late father was American.

Duckworth, who is from Hoffman Estates, Ill., and represents Chicago’s northwest suburban 8th District, announced on NBC’s "Today" show in September that she was expecting. She said she and her husband, a major with the National Guard Bureau, had used assisted reproductive technology in order for her to conceive.

Abigail, Duckworth’s first child, had been due Dec. 5. Plans called for Duckworth to deliver the baby in Illinois, but the statement did not say where the child was born, and no further information is being released, spokes­man Anton Becker said Thursday.

Duckworth lost both legs in 2004 during the Iraq War when the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

The newborn’s earlier-than-expected arrival makes November a monumental month for the lawmaker. She won a second term in Congress on Nov. 4, marked the 10th anniversary of being shot down on Nov. 12 — a day she commemorates as her "Alive Day" — and had the baby six days later.

It was announced in October that Duckworth, a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard, was retiring from the military.

Katherine Skiba, Chicago Tribune