NICU Moms Respond To Woman Unplugging Her Baby's NICU Cords To Get A Sandwich From The Nurses
She said that the nurses told her to unplug her baby if she "needed anything."
Brocreative | Shutterstock A mother whose daughter is currently in the NICU is facing a considerable amount of backlash — and for good reason.
While livestreaming herself holding her baby girl in the NICU, the mom decided that she was hungry and did something most moms couldn't wrap their heads around. She unplugged one of the cords linked to life-saving hospital equipment attached to her premie to get the nurses to rush into her room so she could request food.
A mom unplugged her baby’s NICU monitor to get a turkey sandwich from the nurses.
The mother, who goes by Allie Rae on her since-deleted social media accounts, often live-streamed videos that were more controversial in nature, including attempting to force her medical team to induce her early for no health-related reason. However, the worst was her most recent video, which brought the wrath of the internet to her. While holding her daughter, who was born 7 weeks early and in the NICU, Allie unplugged the baby’s pulse ox monitors to signal the nurses.
The baby was not experiencing a medical emergency. Allie just wanted them to grab her a soda that was out of reach. When a nurse came rushing in, Allie assured her that there was no emergency and that she was just thirsty.
Not long after, Allie unplugged her baby’s pulse ox monitor a second time to request a turkey sandwich. The nurse could be heard off-camera suggesting that Allie take a break and get food for herself, but Allie insisted that the nurse be the one to deliver it to her.
Needless to say, Allie's unusual behavior left many questioning everything from her state of mind to the nurses' gentle reprimands. Even though Allie ended up deleting her social media accounts, some viewers screen-recorded the footage and reposted it online, sparking mass outrage.
Outraged NICU moms rushed to the comments to weigh in on the woman's behavior.
“My son was in the NICU and I was scared of accidentally unplugging his monitors, let alone doing it on purpose,” one mother commented. “As a NICU mom, I didn’t even think about eating or drinking or anything other than getting my daughter better so I could bring her home,” another shared.
“Half of the time, I didn’t even feed myself or get up from the seat I was in to hold them. What a disgusting human being to do that to your own baby,” another wrote.
Unplugging NICU monitors is not the recommended way to signal if you need a nurse.
If a baby’s vital signs begin to deteriorate, the monitor will alarm immediately, summoning medical personnel into the room. Interfering with the monitors in any way could potentially silence them, so if your baby is experiencing a serious medical emergency, critical intervention may be delayed.
Oxygen monitoring in infants is vital, especially for preterm babies, because too much or too little oxygen saturation can be linked to birth defects, including cerebral palsy. Using an oxygen monitor has been standard practice since the 1950s, and medical staff is trained to take any change in optimal levels very seriously, especially in high-risk newborns.
Not to mention the fact that NICU nurses are not your personal waitstaff. Their job consists of carefully monitoring your baby and ensuring that all of their medical needs are being met, not fetching their mothers a sandwich.
Iryna Inshyna | Shutterstock
Allie posted a follow-up livestream claiming that the nurses had advised her to unplug her baby’s monitors if she needed to get their attention. However, most people found her claims baseless, arguing that experienced medical professionals would never make such a suggestion.
The mom is reportedly under investigation following the incident.
Fellow content creator Anthony Blackwell was able to determine that the hospital where Allie unplugged her baby’s pulse ox was located in Webster, Texas. He quickly contacted both the hospital and Child Protective Services and reported that an investigation was currently underway.
Being a mother, especially a NICU mother, is especially difficult and requires selflessness, patience, and responsibility, which Allie clearly does not have at this time. There's no denying that being in Allie's situation can make thinking clearly difficult, but as a struggling mom, she needs help and guidance before she can provide for herself and her premie.
We hope that Allie receives the help and support she needs. Instead of criticism, she deserves empathy because she is traveling a difficult road, and we are only seeing a snippet of her life.
Megan Quinn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.