"You see a doll, I see a baby that I never got ... hence the “reborn” name, he says. The average cost of a reborn doll is $250, but silicone dolls, which feel the most lifelike, start at ...

"When you hold a reborn, the realism in the artistry is one of the things that draws you," says Knoppe, 60. "Then they're weighted like a real baby ... dolls are made of full-body silicone ...

She adds, "As a kid, I used to make so many kinds of dolls — paper dolls, fabric dolls, clay dolls — but once I found out silicone could feel so much like a real baby, it was over. I knew that ...

Reborn dolls are weighted baby and toddler-sized figurines, sculpted from silicone or vinyl and hand painted with attention to details like skin texture, birthmarks and facial expressions.

Alana Generoso, a longtime reborn baby collector who now owns her own doll store, insists that her customers are perfectly ...

To some, the dolls, known as reborn dolls, provide comfort, escape or just plain fun. But politicians across Brazil have tried to pass bills banning the dolls from public spaces.

Here’s how Singaporean artist Andrea Lee turned her childhood hobby of collecting dolls into a side-hustle - with her creations that cost up to US$6,000, selling out within minutes.

In a quiet, dimly-lit room in north Kolkata, a 37-year-old woman gently cradles a baby-esque doll dressed in a pastel ... who lost her first child at birth eight years ago, holding the silicone reborn ...