'Reborn' Dolls Replace Real Babies

The latest in the toy technology are the adorable 'reborn' baby dolls. These could be the perfect answer to those women who fear childbirth due to sleepless nights and dirty nappies.

These exclusive dolls are painted in a manner to give them the original translucent baby affect and have thousands of individual strands of mohair or angora goat hair are micro-rooted in head. The body of the doll is packed with cotton batting and clear pellets.

The heat packs keep the body warm to give the real baby sensation, fat packs for the baby fats and a magnetically attached umbilical cord. The battery-powered heartbeat simulators cause the chest to raise and fall, the breathing stimulus to give the 'real-baby' feel.

Other than the leisure purposes, these dolls are also used to calm the disturbed and anxious patients at the nursing homes. Creator of the doll, Rachel Tams, 22, of Rachel's Reborns in Stoke on Trent, developed the idea four years ago. Since then she has created more than 500 dolls.

Rachel recalls creating the first 'Reborn' for a customer who lost her three month old child. Her doll was modelled on her own baby and she kept the doll in the child's cot. "It really helped the mother. She sends me thank-you letters and gifts," the Daily Express quoted Rachel as saying.

"She wanted something three-dimensional rather than just photos," she added.Gail Tomarchio, a counsellor from Pennsylvania, also agrees that the 'reborn' could have been helpful."The mother saw it as a transitional object and it can work with bereavement or miscarriage," said Tomarchio."As long as she didn't treat it as a baby and saw the doll for what it is, it's not a problem. If she just needed something to fill the crib to help her through the grieving process, that's fine," Tomarchio added.

These dolls are also used by Diana Mosquera, owner of Diana's Birthing Room in South Florida. The 'reborns' are used to demonstrate birthing and nursing techniques to new mothers. "I was always in search of a better doll. I found reborns and decided to make one of my own. It was my hobby but it's become my new business," she said.

Some dolls are also manufactured with open-mouth, to train new mums on breast-feeding."Pregnant women practice breast-feeding on the dolls. The realism of these reborns allows them to latch the babies on correctly." AGENCIES