But shocked hospital staff were horrified to find the parents had done a runner from the child born with an abnormally large head.

Nurses at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Referral Hospital are now looking after the tot, who has not been named.

Photos of the child under the care of nurses have emerged on local media online.

Birth defects are structural or functional abnormalities that cause physical or mental disability.

A structural defect is when a baby is born with a part of the body that is missing or malformed.

Researchers have identified more than 4,000 different types of birth defects, ranging from minor to major afflictions that need treatment.

Figures show around one in 50 babies are born with birth defects in the UK.

It comes after a mum abandoned her “cursed baby” after realising she had a one in a million birth defect.