Reborn dolls are dolls made to look like real babies. They have been around since the early '90's, beginning from the US and now becoming more and more popular elsewhere around the world. Industries have emerged too, surrounding this craft. There are also online stores that offer kits and parts for reborning, or the process of making reborn dolls, as well as finished products by artists. They do not come cheap, their usual price begins from about a hundred dollars and could reach to a thousand or more.

Reborn dolls are bought for a number of reasons, one of these mainly for adding to the collector's items. Customers are mainly women, most of who are in their 30's to 50's. Others, meanwhile, buy these dolls to replace the child they lost or to take the place of their kids who have grown up but still love the feeling of having a baby around. They like the idea of taking care of an infant - to cuddle, to clothe, and to feed it. The only difference between reborns and a real baby is that there is no real responsibility here. The doll does not dirty itself, does not cry, and does not need constant supervision. Thus, it's taking care of the baby but with less the stress.

For women who are unable to bear babies, also called empty nesters, or for those who planned to have babies later in life but have reached the age where it's too late and there's no turning back, this is also one way of coping up with being unable to have one's own child. There are even adoption papers when purchasing a doll to really make it feel real. This helps fill the void that these women have from being childless. The reborn will keep them company. Aside from that, carrying and cuddling these dolls help awaken the mother's instinct in a woman and helps boost her esteem whenever people pass her by and tell her how cute her "baby" is as she takes it for a short stroll outside.

As mentioned above, women buy reborn dolls to replace a child that they once lost. This could be healthy, and could help with the grieving process. But the question is, is it really? And how healthy is it? The first common coping mechanism that a person uses whenever faced with the loss of someone or something important is denial. These dolls could temporarily help them on this process by diverting their attention and at the same time providing them a temporary substitute. However, there are certain issues regarding this type of coping.

If the woman gets too attached to the reborn and loses grip of reality, it might not be. On a healthy level, it helps to deal with the loss by allowing for temporarily forgetting the pain of it. Being busy with taking care of the reborn will help her get her head filled with such activities as to prevent dwelling on the hurt. On the other hand, they might take the reborn doll too seriously and the idea too concretely that it might resolve the grief. That's where it becomes unhealthy and threatens the mental health of the woman.

There should then be considerations on how this should be dealt with. First of all, there has to be moral support from the persons that the woman is surrounded with. They can provide comfort especially during the earlier moments of the loss. Group therapies can also help by providing an outlet for outpouring of emotions. As long as the woman is kept watched, then there should be no harm when "adopting" a reborn.