Many people collect them. Others give them away as gifts. Some use them as a form of comfort. Lifelike dolls are being created and sold world-wide. These lifelike dolls are also known as reborn dolls or fake babies.
Reborn dolls date back to the early 1990s. The process of creating such dolls is described at www.reborn-baby.com, a UK company specializing in this art. These dolls are created as close to a realistic baby as possible . . . from the hair on their head to their manicured nails to their magnetically attached umbilical cords to their soft and cuddly body to the clothes that they wear. And, if desired, special technology can make these dolls warm to the touch, give them a realistic sounding heartbeat, or make the chest rise and fall to simulate breathing. Dolls so real in appearance, that police offices have mistaken dolls left in cars for real babies.
Once considered a collectible item, these dolls are used for many purposes to include providing comfort, healing and calmness. For example, women who miscarry have purchased these dolls to help fill a void in their heart. Nursing homes use reborn dolls to calm and comfort confused or anxious patients. Some buy and care for these lifelike dolls when their children and/or grandchildren move away. Others who elect not to have children due to their heavy work schedules purchase these dolls to help satisfy their maternal instinct. According to Reborn Baby Dolls Online (Article: Reborn Dolls Creepy or Therapeutic) “more older women are purchasing reborn babies as a way of helping them remember what it was like being a mother. . . they can be very therapeutic, especially for these older women. Studies have shown that holding and cuddling a baby, whether a real baby or a realistic baby, releases hormones in the body that promotes emotional well being.”
As with all things, there are some skeptics. There are those who think lifelike dolls are somewhat unnatural, but for others these dolls bring joy.
In October 2008, the Today Show ran a segment on women who collect lifelike dolls. Click here to read the article, see a slide show of reborn dolls, and watch a video. Although this story ran almost a year ago, the segment is still informative and enlightening. Lifelike doll magazines are also available. To find a “lifelike doll” retailer, use any online search engine.
If you have one of these dolls or want to purchase one, please share your story. Someone may want to hear from you.
For more information read:
- Reborn Baby Dolls Increase in Popularity: Are Unliving (Fake) Babies Collectibles or More?
- Now, Life-Like Baby Dolls Offer Comfort For Miscarriage Women!
- Bogus baby boom: Women who collect lifelike dolls: Eerily realistic ‘reborns’ sell for up to $4,000: ‘It fills a spot in your heart
- Lifelike Reborn Magazine
