Reborn dolls lie set out for ‘adoption’, at a doll fair at the Brentwood Holiday Inn, Brentwood, UK. 

Kasia is holding her reborn doll, in Warsaw, Poland.

Basia changes little Lincoln's clothes, in Olesnica, Poland. Basia's love for reborn dolls began when she saw a documentary, My Fake Baby. Some years later she started to make dolls herself, and the hobby became a business.

A reborn doll ‘at home’ in  Olesnica, Poland.

A crib set up for Lorcia, a reborn doll, in Gdansk, Poland. Lorcia was part of the family for seven years, as Magdalena could not conceive. When Magdalena gave birth to a baby boy, the doll was stored in a cupboard, its therapeutic purpose fulfilled.

Photos of Lorcia, a reborn doll, lie pasted in an album, in Gdansk, Poland. Magdalena loved to dress Lorcia up. Before she gave birth to her son, she used to change the doll's outfit every day and take a photo for her baby album.

Mothers take a walk with their children, in  Olesnica. Poland. One of the babies is real and one is a doll.

Basia, Dominika, Magda and Emilka go walking, in Karpacz, Poland. A few times a year, the doll lovers gather to spend time together and exchange experiences. Dominika is a teenager who considers herself too young to have children, so adopted a doll to fulfill her strong maternal instinct.

A tired child takes a reborn doll’s usual place in a stroller, in Warsaw, Poland.

Katarzyna’s four children play at home in Sianozety, Poland. Katarzyna ‘adopted’ a reborn doll after a miscarriage. Her children love the doll, and treat it as part of the family.

Basia has begun a doll hospital in Olesnica, Poland, where she repairs and refreshes dolls. She also makes dolls based on the photos clients send her.

A ‘sick’ doll is cared for, in Olesnica, Poland.

Katarzyna sits with her doll, while her children play in a park, in Warsaw, Poland. Whenever Katarzyna takes her children out, the doll usually comes too.

A reborn doll lies wrapped in a blanket, in Karpacz, Poland. The dolls are so lifelike that many people mistake them for real babies.

A reborn doll is baked to fix paint onto the vinyl, to make realistic-looking skin, in Olesnica, Poland. It takes up to two weeks to make a reborn doll.

Basia paints a new doll, in Olesnica, Poland. It takes a great deal of patience and attention to detail to paint the vinyl so that it looks like human skin.

Reborn dolls lie on a table at a doll-owners’ get-together, in Olesnica, Poland. The owners exchange baby clothes, take walks and have meals together.

Kamila Wozniak, who is pregnant with her second child, cradles her reborn doll, in  Karpacz, Poland.

Ewa holds close her reborn doll in Rzeszow, Poland. For Ewa, the doll fills a void after the death of her son, who lived only 18 days after being born prematurely, in 2017. She cradles her doll, sings to him, kisses him, and buys him new clothes.

A reborn doll is left on the sidewalk in Olesnica, Poland, while its owner goes inside a building. There have been reports of car windows smashed by people wanting to rescue dolls similarly left behind, in the mistaken belief that they are real babies.

Reborn doll enthusiasts visit the Adopted Doll House run by Urszula Jokisz (middle), in Karpacz, Poland. Urszula has hundreds of dolls, but had never seen a reborn doll before. Kamila Wozniak (left) is pregnant with her second child, and Jola Bachman (right) is a reborn artist.

Dolls are left on the floor of a restaurant where there is only one high chair, in Karpacz, Poland.

Katarzyna’s eldest son lies on the beach while on vacation in Sianożęty, Poland, beside the reborn doll the family takes along on all its activities.

Katarzyna, from Sianożęty, in Poland, ‘adopted’ a reborn doll after a miscarriage. She and her four children treat it as part of the family.

A doll owner takes part in a competition to change a baby doll, during an annual get-together of reborn doll enthusiasts in Karpacz, Poland.

Ewa holds up her reborn doll, in Bytom, Poland. She says the doll reminds her of her niece when she was a little baby, and keeps her company.

A reborn doll lies packed, and ready to be sent to a new ‘parent’, in Olesnica, Poland. The package includes a birth certificate and set of baby clothes. The box-opening ritual is important for many new doll owners, who often film the moment and share it on social media.

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