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An aspiring mum who owns 16 reborn dolls has hit out at a recent 'fake baby scandal' which has had the internet in a chokehold. Jess Ellis, 29, explained how she began creating and collecting the lifelike dolls after she was diagnosed with PCOS, which left her struggling to conceive a child. PCOS, otherwise known as Polycystic ovary syndrome, is a condition which affects how a woman's ovaries work, the NHS said. There are numerous side effects of PCOS including irregular periods, difficulty getting pregnant, excessive hair growth, weight gain, thinning hair or oily skin and acne. READ MORE: Woman, 42, has £9k tummy tuck without realising she's pregnant Content creator, Jess, has shared how she find her dolls "beautiful" to look at, and she believes they trigger similar hormones to those experienced by mothers who are looking after newborn children, the Mirror reported. However, the Reborn dolls have recently made headlines after 22-year-old, Kira Cousins, 22, was accused of allegedly faking giving birth using one of these dolls. She reportedly received hundreds of pounds worth of gifts before her family discovered her newborn daughter was actually a doll. Cousins wore a prosthetic baby bump, sharing photos of baby scans, hosting a gender reveal party and even posting a video of the 'baby' kicking. Jess, an HR business partner from Newham, London, said: "I absolutely cannot condone what she's done." The aspiring mum started her collection in May 2020, when she felt "lonely" during the pandemic. Her first doll, Rebecca, set her back £250 - and she swiftly expanded her collection with newborn-like dolls Zain, Sam, Annalese and Aria. In total, Jess has splashed out more than £6,000 on baby accessories alone to date. The soothing effects of the dolls come from their "weighted" feel and the distraction of dressing them up. Jess also believes they trigger similar maternal hormones as a real baby - providing comfort for women struggling to conceive or couples who have suffered a miscarriage. However, she fears that Cousins' alleged actions may now give people the wrong impression about Reborn dolls. She stated: "Most of the time people get a Reborn because they like the dolls, but they are also used for some kind of grief and they can be very beneficial. READ MORE: Mum, 30, who used DWP benefit payments to fund drug habit beats addiction "I worry that when stories like this come out that it's reinforcing that people who have Reborn dolls are crazy and that we think they are real and that we're trying to trick our family and friends and that's not the case at all. "I've seen people who have used them for grief but not pass them off as real, I've never seen that before." Jess, who shares videos about the dolls on her TikTok and YouTube accounts, says she hasn't received any negative feedback yet. She added: "I haven't had any backlash so far - I made a video about this story, so we'll see what kind of comments I get."
