“Almost Killed Your Baby for a Turkey Sandwich” — Mom Unplugs NICU Baby Monitors for Food Request

A mother who unplugged her premature baby's monitors so she could tell a nurse she wanted a turkey sandwich is facing harsh criticism online. Dr. Seemed Mezher (@drsermedmezher) slammed the new parent's actions in a viral TikTok and explained how she may've killed her daughter with the maneuver.

Furthermore, he was appalled by the woman's lack of remorse after folks shamed her online for her actions.

The video begins with the mom in question, Allie Ray, recording herself sitting in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a hospital. This area is dedicated to monitoring the health of newborn babies born prematurely.

A human's organs are still developing in the final weeks of pregnancy, such as the brains, lungs, and liver.

And if they're born premature, healthcare professionals must implement additional protocols to ensure the health of the child. Nurses specifically trained in neonatal care are assigned to oversee the infant's vitals. The Mayo Clinic writes that NICU babies are constantly having their heart rate and breath monitored.

Furthermore, because premature children are usually born underweight, fluid monitoring is of paramount importance, and the amount they take in and dispel is also constantly watched. Blood tests, ultrasound assessments of the infant's heart, and eye exams are also conducted.

Also, NICU children, because of their lower weight, have a difficult time staying warm.

Often, they'll be placed inside a specialized "Halo" dome to further monitor climate to ensure the infant's temperature is regulated. That's because the final weeks of pregnancy are effectively occurring outside of the womb, NICU babies run the risk of experiencing health complications and developmental delays if not properly cared for.

Consequently, NICU alerts are a big deal. And it seems that the new mom, Allie, utilized the alacrity associated with NICU alerts to ensure that she was getting her hospital food delivered to her in a timely fashion.

After unplugging the wires connected to her baby's monitoring system, the video cuts to her addressing a member of the hospital staff who came in to see why the monitor alert went off.

When they do, Allie tells the healthcare worker, "No, no you're fine it's not an emergency. I just was gonna see if you could bring me a turkey sandwich?"

Dr. Mezher frustratingly commented on the situation, giving his unfiltered opinion on the new mom's behavior. "My eyes want to retreat further into my skull after just witnessing this mother unplug her own NICU baby's monitoring device. to trick the nurses into coming in so she could ask for a turkey sandwich," he says.

The doctor went on to state that he was absolutely stunned a mother would potentially put her newborn's life at risk with the maneuver. That's because infants run the risk of being unable to breathe out of nowhere. Had the monitors failed to recognize this issue because they were disconnected, mom could've effectively contributed to her child's death for a turkey sandwich.

He explains the worst-case scenario in detail: "Aside from the audacity of her recording the whole thing, she put her own premature baby in danger by doing that. Since apneic episodes where babies stop breathing can happen very suddenly in premature ones. And she would have distracted those nurses from the others on the unit."

What gets him even more fired up is the fact that when Allie was met with criticisms and castigation online, she didn't seem to care at all. She seemed more concerned and happy with the number of views she received from the video. "After getting backlash for this, she doesn't even feel any remorse," he says.

The clip then cuts to Allie smiling into the camera in a separate video, "Half a million views, all it's gonna do is bring more traction to my page and more money in my pocket. So."

A text overlay in this clip sums up the outrage felt toward the premature baby's mother: "Two million people have seen you put your NICU baby at risk over a turkey sandwich."

While Allie may seem glum in her clip and sure that the only consequence of her actions is her ending up with more money and a larger social media following, Dr. Mezher says that Child Protective Services has been notified of her behavior toward her child.

"The CPS has been informed," he states, before asking other viewers what they thought of her actions. Numerous commenters expressed their disgust with how the woman nabbed herself a turkey sandwich and that she didn't feel any shame for what she did, either.

"She needs locking up. That poor baby as far away from her as possible," one penned.

Another remarked, "Call family services," to which Dr. Mezher reassured them that they were indeed called and made aware of the situation.

"They have been notified!"

Someone else, who said that their baby was born prematurely, detailed how terrifying that alarm was for her to hear after her child had been born.

"As someone who had a NICU baby, the alarms still haunt me, let alone causing my baby's alarm to go off like that!" she wrote.

One TikToker tried putting themselves in the shoes of the nurse high-tailing it to tend to the child: "Imagine how the nurse was running to try and save that baby and the shock they get from the mom saying that."