An aspiring mum who owns 15 reborn dolls to "practise" parenting worries Kira Cousins' fake baby scandal reinforces the idea doll owners are "crazy"."

Jess Ellis, 29, started making and collecting the hyper realistic dolls after a battle with PCOS left her struggling to conceive.

The content creator says they're "beautiful" to look at, and claims they release similar hormones to mums caring for newborn babies. "

But reborn dolls have been at the centre of a scandal this week after it was revealed Kira Cousins, 22, allegedly pretended to give birth to a baby using a reborn doll.

She later received hundreds of pounds worth of gifts before her family found out her newborn daughter was actually a doll, reports say.

Cousins has been accused of wearing a prosthetic baby bump, sharing photos of baby scans, hosting a gender reveal party and even posting a video of the 'baby' kicking.

Whilst she does not condone what Cousins is alleged to have done, Jess believes she must have suffered from some form of loss prior.

Jess, a HR business partner, from Newham, London, said: "I absolutely cannot condone what she's done."

"It's really awful to do to your family, having said that, I wonder if she's had some sort of mental breakdown or something."

"A mentally well person does not do that kind of thing."

"I've seen a lot of people talking about her online and I think she needs some help."

Jess began her collection in May 2020 - after feeling "lonely" throughout the pandemic. "

Her first doll, Rebecca, cost £250 - and she quickly added dolls like newborns Zain, Sam, Annalese and Aria to her brood.

In total, to date, Jess has spent over £6k on baby accessories alone.

The calming effects of the dolls include their "weighted" feel and the distraction of dressing them up. "

Jess also claims they release similar maternal hormones as the real deal - making them a comfort for women struggling to conceive, or couples who have miscarried.

But she is worried that Cousins' alleged actions people may now give people the wrong idea about reborn dolls.

She said: "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."

"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 makes videos about the dolls on her TikTok and YouTube accounts says she is yet to receive any negative comments.

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."