I never knew that reborn dolls exist until I stumbled upon them. I would not advise mothers who delivered stillbirths and premature babies to even look at them. However, I wish to have my say on this because I found them to be very distasteful.
Reborn dolls are life size prematured babies. According to the site that is selling them, they can even tailor the doll to look exactly the way you want.
For what reasons does a bereaved mother wants a reborn doll? Wouldn’t that be more agonising to hang on to a rubber doll? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to allow our little angles to be where they are freely without us holding on to much to them? Personally, I feel it is not good to encourage a woman whom may be having post-natal blues coupled with mourning to be confused with a rubber doll. It must be better off for her to grieve over the loss and pick up the pieces and carry on.
I will not share any links or any graphics because they are totally,totally sick. I hope the manufacturer will come to their senses, be sensitive to the grieving mothers and discontiue such collectibles.
I am sorry to all the parents whom may have different opinions. This is my opinion and I stick with it. I wish them all the best if they opted to adopt one of these dolls to replace their little angel.
Sandra Said:
on August 18, 2006 at 4:53 am
Apparantly you are misunderstanding and don’t really know what a reborn doll is. First of all, it is not a manufactured doll put out by any company. Reborn dolls are custom repainted dolls made by individuals who either do it for hobby, or most sell on ebay. All kinds of different dolls are used to make “reborns”. They are created for doll collectors who like realistic looking baby dolls. They were not created for anyone who has had a miscarriage or a stillbirth. That was never intended to be their purpose. You may have gotten the idea that they were intended for that purpose because of the term “reborn”. They are called “reborns” because a plain play doll or doll kit is repainted and customized, hence, it is “reborn” into a new doll. There is nothing sick or graphic about them.
Some people like collecting dolls, some people don’t, what is sick about that? Also, you mentioned that reborns are life-sized prematured babies. This is not true either. Most reborns are 20 inch newborn size, and some are toddler sized. It all depends on what size doll the artist chooses to repaint. Usually the smallest reborn is around 17-18 inches, which is bigger than alot of premature babies.
I think also that you may have stumbled upon an individual person’s own website. Maybe the one particulat artist was making reborns that look like premature babies. There are also a few artists out there who create horror reborn dolls for horror collectors. I personally think the horror reborns are sick, but I am not a collector of horror related items. I do however collect dolls, and I reborn baby dolls. There are thousands of women worldwide who collect dolls, no different then men who collect model cars or action figures.
You have somehow gotten the idea that there is a doll company that manufactures reborn dolls that were intended to look like premature or stillborn babies. You couldn’t be more wrong. Reborning dolls is just custom repaints. Type in reborn baby under Ebay’s search, and you will see that they are for doll collectors, and that most are very sweet and pretty. Alot of artists let you choose the hair color, color eyes, etc. This is called making a “portrait or custom” doll.
So in short, reborn dolls are not manufactured, they are created by individual artists, and they are custom repaints, or portrait dolls. They cannot be discontinued, because they are made by artists and regular everyday people, not a company. They are not created nor intended for bereaving mothers ever in mind, and they are not meant to look like stillborn or deceased infants. They are for doll collectors, and they are created in all different sizes. Some look real, some don’t (depends on the talent of the artist and the doll used). Some are sleeping babies with peach fuzz for hair, some are big full size toddlers with lots of hair and big wide open eyes.
Lastly, I have a little angel of my own living in Heaven, and I am a doll collector and a reborn artist. I encourage anyone to do a search on ebay to see that making custom repainted dolls is not sick in any shape or form.
admin Said:
on September 4, 2006 at 11:57 am
Well, Sandra, the dolls I saw on some of the sites are actually premature babies with their tubes and needles still stuck to them, plus bloodied bandages. There was also one mom who is actually keeping a replica of her deceased baby in her living room. So, I will not argue with you whether I was right or wrong with my earlier opinions.
Mavis Van Beek Said:
on May 1, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I volunteer at a Christian organization in Mississippi. We have a Parent/Child Program to help new Moms take care of themselves while pregnant and both themselves and the babies after they are born. Quite a few babies are born premature. I would like to obtain a doll that looks exactly like a small premature baby so that the new Moms-to-be will see what these babies can look like if they are born premature. These new Moms can be quite surprised when they first see their babies after birth if they are born premature. We are located in the Delta area of Mississippi and by having these pre-natal classes for Moms we are bringing down the percentage of infant deaths in this area. These dolls should be no larger than 10″ and have the wrinkled skin of the preemie. And their skin should be dark as these new Moms are often African American. Also African American babies are born with lots of dark hair. If you can help us locate a doll as I have described I would truly appreciate that information. Thank you.
laura Said:
on August 7, 2008 at 10:09 pm
All of the parents that are buying these dolls are ordering custom dolls for their own use. I personally have a son that was born at 29 weeks and I have a doll that is a replica of this so that he is understanding of how god brought him on to earth and that he is our “miracle”. He thinks it is neat that he can have a visual of this and he can share how special he is to people. Someday he will have this keepsake for his family and children to see. Unless you have had a life changing experience of a premature child or stillborn who are you to judge??????
Clare Degg Said:
on October 5, 2008 at 7:36 am
Can i just say my son was stillborn in April 2000, and i stumbled across reborn babies on ebay when buying a doll for my daughter, i think the comment that you found them very distasteful is entirely your opinion but you are totally wrong…. If you have experienced the loss of a baby it is exteremely difficult to come to terms with, my son would of been 8 years old and there isn’t a day thats gone by when i dont think about him, he was absolutely perfect and if something like a reborn baby can help you to remember then why not! Also your comment on reborns just been a piece of rubber is absoulety appauling, i can and will say that alot of work goes into the reborning process and the end result is very rewarding… I have been reborning for 2 years now and have found it much more helpful than any leaflet, counselling or any doctor talking from a book trying to make you feel better…. You can never replace your child but you can always remember them in your own special way and if a reborn baby helps to ease that grief just a little then again i say why not!!!!!!!!!!!! This message is for ADMIN