Demand for life-like dolls drives cottage industry

By Sophie Taylor

EDINBURGH (Reuters Life) - Their chests rise and fall and you can hear a tiny heartbeat, but these babies for sale over the Internet are not alive.

"Reborn babies" are disconcertingly life-like baby dolls made of vinyl, which have become swiftly popular with collectors, nostalgic grandparents and grieving parents.

Made by a growing circle of enthusiasts, they are painted several times to create the mottled color of newborn skin, sport mohair for hair and eyelashes, and are weighted to make them feel as heavy as human babies.

"My daughter wanted a sibling and I didn't want to have any more children, so I made her a doll instead," said Deborah King, who took up doll-making as a hobby three years ago and now sells dolls via Reborn Baby (www.reborn-baby.com).

The term "reborn" refers to the process used to make customized dolls, she said.

Most of King's customers are collectors and grandparents who miss their grandchildren's younger selves, while others just enjoy holding the pretend babies - whose eerily lifelike bodies can be fitted with electronics to mimic heartbeat and breathing.

"People like to cuddle babies. It gives you a motherly feeling," the 32-year-old mother of two told Reuters by telephone.

Contrary to what most people expect, only the occasional customer buys a doll to replace babies they were unable to have, or have lost, King said. She sells the dolls for between 250 pounds to 1,600 pounds ($492-$3,146) and receives 10 to 15 requests a week.