I miscarried at six months – the only thing that helps me navigate my grief is mothering a £315 lifelike doll
When Evelyn Roth lost her much-longed for baby when she was six months pregnant, she feared she’d never recover – until her therapist suggested she bought a lifelike doll to help her channel her grief.
Ms Roth and her boyfriend Logan, both 19, suffered their pregnancy loss in March 2025, and have found comfort in parenting two Reborn dolls which cost $430 (£315) each, dressing them up, walking them in their pram, and taking them out for dinner.
She said: ‘In March 2025, I had a miscarriage, and my therapist recommended reborns, as she said they help a lot of women to cope.
‘I bought a doll second hand for $430 and it helped so much, it’s probably the best decision I’ve ever made for myself.
‘I definitely think they’re very comforting, being able to hold something that’s weighted to be like a real newborn, is just calming.’
Reborn dolls are made to weigh the same as real life babies (around 2.5kg), and are carefully hand painted to mimic a real baby’s delicate complexion.
Because of their weight and proportions, holding them can feel like you are holding a real baby, which Ms Roth said helped her to feel less like she was missing out on what could have been, had she not miscarried.
They look so realistic that Ms Roth, from Wisconsin, USA, says people are stunned to learn that she is out and about with a doll.
Evelyn Roth and Logan, both 19, miscarried at six months in March 2025
A therapist encouraged her to buy a realistic doll to help her grieve her miscarriage
She said: ‘A lot of people think the dolls are real when I take them out in the stroller.
‘When I explain, some people think it’s weird, which is completely fair, but others are fascinated by it.
‘A lot of people want to hold them, which I can understand, because they’re works of art.’
Ms Roth initially became interested in reborn dolls when she was in school after becoming enamoured with how realistic they looked.
However, with dolls retailing for up to $2,000 (£1,460), she understood that it was unrealistic that her parents would be able to buy her one.
Thankfully there is a healthy trade for preloved Reborn dolls, meaning that she was eventually able to purchase one – a move she describes as the ‘best decision’ she has ever made.
Ms Roth’s first doll is called Anadaya, and she also has a second doll, that lives at her boyfriend’s house, whose name and gender she likes to constantly change.
‘I’m not a very decisive person,’ she said.
One of Ms Roth’s two £315 Reborn dolls
Their primary doll is called Andaya
She used to have a third doll, but recently gave it away to a friend who also suffered a miscarriage.
‘I empathised with her a lot,’ she said.
Ms Roth enjoys dressing her two dolls in different outfits, and estimates that they have a wardrobe of around 50 looks. She has spent roughly $150 (£110) on clothes from second hand shops.
She has also bought them a magnetic dummy, but unlike a lot of ‘doll moms’ won’t buy them nappies and formula.
‘I think that kind of stuff should be saved for real children,’ she said.
‘I get a lot of joy from dressing my dolls in cute outfits.
‘I have about 50 outfits for them, I’ve spent around $150 on clothes.
‘It makes me feel like I’m not missing out on what could have been as much.
Ms Roth has spent around £110 on outfits for her dolls
‘My boyfriend really loves it when we take the dolls out when we go for dinner or for a walk.
‘He misses the opportunities we had when I was pregnant too, and he’s trying to cope in the same way I am.’
However, Ms Roth warned against forming an ‘unhealthy’ attachment to the dolls, and treating them like real babies, adding that they are merely a tool for her and her partner, not a substitute offspring.
Holding the dolls provides comfort for her and her partner, when they are missing their baby, and she recommends reborns for anyone going through similar trauma.
She said: ‘I would definitely recommend the dolls to anyone going through similar trauma, but I think you need to be at a certain point in your healing journey, to not develop an unhealthy attachment to the doll.
‘People think that I treat my dolls like a real baby, and look after them 24/7, but I don’t, I hold them when I’m missing my baby, and when I’m hurting.’
Ms Roth acknowledges that a day will come where she won’t need the dolls anymore and will pass them on to another grieving parent.
She said: ‘I definitely want to get more dolls, but I don’t think this is a hobby I’ll have my entire life.
‘I think once I have real children, I will probably sell my dolls.
- If you have been affected by this article, The Sands Helpline is available at 0808 164 3332 or via email at helpline@sands.org.uk
