The mom charged with smothering her baby in a Midtown burger joint is a schizophrenic who claimed she killed him because she “was afraid that someone was going to eat him,’’ law enforcement sources told The Post on Tuesday.

“I was afraid that someone was going to eat him so I was protecting him. I put him to sleep with my hand,” Latisha Fisher, 35, allegedly told cops.

The Lower East Side resident, who is charged with second-degree murder, was being moved to Elmhurst Hospital for psychiatric treatment, the sources said.

Fisher was discovered by a worker in the bathroom of 5 Boro Burger on Monday with her 1-year-old son lying on her lap unconscious and foaming at the mouth.