THEY are probably the most realistic-looking baby dolls you'll ever see. With their soft hair, pink cheeks and vibrant eyes, you could even mistake them for the real thing.
Some come with mechanical beating hearts.
While several people buy these so-called reborn dolls to be used as toys, a growing number of buyers use it for something much more unorthodox - to help them overcome the death of their newborn child.
The British press recently reported that there has been a surge of interest in reborn dolls from parents looking for a way to deal with their grief.
Hundreds of these dolls are readily available on the Internet shopping site eBay, and many of them can be custom-made to look exactly like the child who was lost.
Reborn dolls are named after the process of stripping mass-produced dolls to bare plastic, then painstakingly 'reborning' the doll to the likeness of a real baby.
Ms Wendy Graham, one of Britain's leading 'reborners' told The Sun newspaper that she has made several of these dolls for grieving parents over the last four years.
'It's a very personal thing for people,' she said.
'It was so sad when I received my first picture of a dead child. I hoped my doll would turn out exactly like the baby and the couple would be happy with it. It's a strange thing to do.'
Reborners in the US have also been getting requests from grieving parents.
Ms Jenn Holcomb told The New Paper on Sunday that she has helped at least six couples create life-like dolls of their babies who died.
'(One mother) wanted a portrait doll of him when he was an infant and dressed him in the clothes her son wore home from the hospital,' said Ms Holcomb, 34, who has been creating the dolls for four years.
'Another one I made was for a grandmother who wanted a baby to look like her granddaughter who had died from sudden infant death syndrome.'
Reborners go to great lengths to ensure that the dolls look and feel as life-like as possible.
For example, weights are put in the doll's limbs to simulate the weight of a real baby when parents carry it.
The dolls' eyes are made from glass so that they look more real, and the hair is rooted into the head by hand.
Many reborners often go as far as to paint veins and skin blemishes on the dolls to make them even more life-like.
And parents are also given the option of having their doll dressed in their baby's favourite outfit.
Ms Holcomb said the most difficult part of the job is knowing that you're crafting the image of a baby who is already dead.
She said she often gets unnerved when parents send her pictures of their deceased infant so that she has a reference to work with.
'No one wants to see photos like that, but to their parents who never got to see them take a breath, they are the most beautiful babies in the world,' she said.
'It is never an easy thing to see or read about but I feel like it is worth it if it offers the least bit of comfort to a grieving parent.'
Ms Judy Goodwin, a US-based reborner who created a doll for a woman who lost her infant niece, believes that the dolls do help relieve some of the feelings of loss that a grieving parent goes through.
'Just holding something that resembles a real baby can be very soothing,' she said.
MINORITY
However, both the US-based reborners said only a very small number of their clients are grieving parents.
The dolls, which take about a week to craft can cost over US$1,000 ($1,600), are usually bought by doll collectors, elderly people without grandchildren, and those with grown-up children who want to be reminded of them as infants.
Wealthy mothers have also been known to shell out for reborn dolls for their children to push around in prams.
The Child Bereavement Trust, a UK-wide charity that counsels grieving families, said it is not surprised by growing popularity of reborn dolls being used in Britain as an outlet for grief.
'We wouldn't encourage their use, nor would we condemn anyone for doing so. It is not unusual for bereaved mothers to have aching arms longing to hold their baby who has died,' a spokesman told The Sun.
'They can often feel comforted by cuddling or holding a toy or blanket which their child has touched, so it isn't surprising that reborns have become a growing trend.'
However, the charity advised parents not to depend solely on the doll to deal with their grief.
'The response from bereaved families we have spoken to has been that a doll like this wouldn't be helpful because it wouldn't be their baby,' said the charity.
'It's more helpful for them to face the reality of what is happening and express their painful feelings without relying on such a doll.'
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