A baby is battling to survive after being born with a rare birth defect that causes his brain to burst out of his skull.

Two-months-old John dela Torre will need an operation to put portions of his brain back inside his head after being diagnosed with Encephalocele since birth.

He was born on August 21 with a thin, clear sac attached to the small opening in his head which contains a sac formed from brain tissue.

The sick baby could barely move because of the sensitive growth so he has had to stay in the hospital in Dipolog City, the Philippines, ever since he was born.

Footage recorded on October 3 shows the infant napping with the huge growth on his head.

His mother, Angel dela Torre, 19, said her family has used up all of their savings and taken on debt to sustain their medical bills.

She said: ''Close friends and relatives help us out by giving donations, but it is not enough to cover everything.

''I can't give up on my son though. We will keep fighting for him to get the treatment he needs. He deserves to grow up and have a happy life. I want to his first day at school and him playing with friends.''

The struggling mother added her husband only earns a meagre income as a farmer and they barely have enough for food themselves.

She is alone in the government-run hospital taking care of the baby while her family works.

They are now appealing for help to continue the baby’s medication who had just underwent an MRI scan on the head as part of treatment.

The MRI scan cost the family around 10,000 pesos (200 USD), but the surgery would cost more because it’s a rare disease. The family will have to raise at least 80,000 pesos (1,700 USD) to afford the surgery.

Encephalocele is treated with surgery to place the protruding part of the brain and the membranes covering it back into the skull and close the opening in the skull. However, neurologic problems caused by the disease will still be present.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 375 babies are born each year in the United States with encephalocele which is approximately 1 in 10,000 babies each year.