How could a baby born without a brain survive for a year?

The brain stem controls most of your body's "automatic" functions (specifically breathing and heartbeat). The rest are more or less capable of managing themselves.

I would guess that this particular baby still has a brain stem, but not the rest of the brain.

It's a tough call: The infant must have some kind of a brain stem otherwise its heart and organs would not function well enough to support its life. If it has a brain stem, then it will have other required lower level brain systems necessary to manage breathing and other automical functions. It most likely doesn't have a cerebral cortex, necessary for higher order brain fuction and conscious awareness. There are many, many unfortunate babies like that in the world. If the child has managed to live a year, it will probably survive for many more to come. This may or may not be a good thing depending upon the circumstances. The tragedy isn't in ending this disabled infant's life, or even in allowing it to continue; the tragedy is in not making use of science and technology to their highest degree, in attempting to find some means of enhancing that child's life, its conscious being. After all, human consciousness is more than just a whole brain, it is the whole body as well. The point, consciousness is more than just a function of the cerebral cortex, it is the whole central and peripheral nervous system taken together. Much depends on the beliefs and attitude of the parents and what they are able to endure for the rest of their natural lives.

Though the baby is supposed to be without a brain, there is still a brain stem which allows for basic functions like breathing.

However, the baby is likely to be unable to learn to talk or write. He is also likely to remain in this baby state even if he grows to 4 or 5 years old. Of course, his physical body will increase to grow in height and size.

not the total brain package,...that baby may still have that brain stem that is situated somewhere in the spinal column, from which it is capable of controlling heartbeat and perspiration...however that baby might not survive school though

hehehe

GWB