Pregnant Fashion Dolls

This is an update of a post I had on my doll blog, researched when I was pregnant. I always remember the pregnant doll I had as a kid, and all the happy hours of play she provided. Some people say that pregnant dolls are dangerous as they encourage young girls to get pregnant, but I don't believe that for a second. Little kids love playing with toy vaccuum cleaners and shop tills too, but you don't see teenagers clamouring to help out with the household chores or get a Saturday job, do you? ;)



The most (in)famous doll is pregnant Midge, Barbie's childhood friend from Willows High. Midge and high school sweetheart Alan married in 1991, via a range of themed dolls, and in 2002 a pregnant Midge was released as part of the 'Happy Family' line. A married mother-to-be was too much for some people however, and when Wal-Mart customers complained that Midge lacked a painted on wedding band (perhaps the poor woman's fingers had swelled through water retention?) the store's stock had to be replaced. Midge, unlike most pregnant dolls, has her baby belly attached by magnets - you can read a review of the doll HERE.

At first Midge's baby was a girl named Nikki, later pregnant dolls came with an unnamed baby whose sex was a mystery until the box was opened. Midge also came in an AA version.

But, if you're looking for a pregnant doll, Midge is far from your only option. Read on for the alternatives.

*Note: All pictures come from Google image search. I claim no credit for them.*

Enchanted Doll: Russian doll artist Marina Bychkova is deservedly a legend among doll collectors, her porcelain BJDs are beautiful. You can read more about this pregnant doll HERE and HERE. For more pregnant BJDs, check out:

• cdlitestudio. Gorgeous BJDs by artist Connie D'Angelo DiMichele, including pregnant dolls such as THIS pregnant Lady in Waiting doll.
• Forgotten Hearts. Aidamaris Roman, the artist behind the brand, has made a few pregnant dolls like Mimosa. (Though be wary if you want to buy, the site has a bad reputation.)
• Natasha Yaskova. Talented doll artist who has made pregnant dolls in the past.

Ginni is a cheap clone doll who comes in a range of familiar faces, this one based on the Chinese Kurhn doll, packaged in boxes with poor English translations. For a Ginni of your own, check out wholesale sites like alibaba.com. Similar 'Happily of Household' clones, most with Barbie type heads, are to be found packaged alone and in family sets. They include:

☆  Angel.
☆  Beka Toys Fashion Girl.
☆  Belle.
☆  Bessie.
☆  Come Baby.
☆  Educate The Girl. Despite the promising name, ETG's main selling point is that she comes packaged with eight pairs of shoes.
☆  Elegance Girl.
☆  Eunice 'Happy Family'. (My bookmarks are failing me right now, but still. Where do they get the names??)
☆  Feeling Mother. Lucy, the 'Feeling Mother', comes with twins. Her box states: 'When the baby was hers, Lucy dresses up to buy the milk formula for it.' Indeed.
☆  Gina. She even comes as a pregnant bride, so you can recreate the shotgun weddings of yesteryear.
☆  Happy Family. Some versions of Happy Family (and its Ameiya and Bertha / Clara counterparts) come with a paddling pool for the toddler doll - perhaps it could double as a birthing pool for the mum-to-be? You can also get just the pregnant doll on her own, as HERE.
☆  Lianyi.
☆  Mother Love.
☆  Sabrina.

Heart Family: Mattel's Mrs Heart wasn't exactly pregnant in the 1986 Heart Family New Arrival Set, at least not in the plastic baby bump way most of the dolls in this list are. What she did have was a maternity smock, so her owner could pretend she was pregnant. Mattel explain their reasoning HERE, and you can watch the original TV advert HERE.

Dream Dazzlers Jessica is not much different to the clone dolls, the family being based rather obviously on Simba Toys' Steffi, Kevin and Evi Love, but she has been sold on the shelves of Toys 'r' Us and other reputable stores, so that sets her somewhat apart. She also shares my name, so had to get her own section!

Karen 'Mother-with-Baby': Raffoler Ltd produced this pretty doll in white and AA skintones in 1992, which came with spare outfits and accessories. You can read a review of her HERE.

Knocked-Up Nancy: This attractive, if cheaply made, clone doll can be bought for around $10 - $15 (£6 - £9) from stores like BaronBob.com, 'the funny gift crusader'.

Licca-chan: In 2001, coinciding with the birth of Aiko, daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, Licca-chan fell pregnant. If you only have a passing knowledge of Licca that may seem surprising, as Licca is meant to be about 11 years old. However adult versions of Licca are released fairly regularly - her future timeline has her becoming a diplomat in France, the homeland of her father, and meeting Frantz, her husband. Pregnant Licca's owners had to send a postcard off to the 'stork department' at Takara, who would then send out a baby doll and a plastic key which would deflate Licca's belly back to pre-pregnancy proportions. Click HERE for a review.

Mommy's Having a Baby: This Tyco doll was launched in 1992, and stands 18" high. The baby, once born, drinks and wets - just like the real thing. She was also available as a black doll, as seen HERE at the excellent blackdollcollecting blog.

Mommy-To-Be: Originally launched in Europe by Villy Nielsen APS, over 1.5 million units were shifted before distributor Judith Corporation made them available in the US via mail order and F.A.O Schwarz stores. Schwarz started selling them for $20 a piece on Mother's Day 1992, and ran out of stock within a week (source). For panicky US parents there was an accompanying Father-To-Be doll, with both mum and dad available in white and black versions. There is a (surprisingly) decent article on the doll HERE, at the Daily Mail website. Following a price drop, the doll seems to have been renamed Judith and Judy, and was the subject of a lot of negative comment on the effortless way in which she regained her figure (see HERE, HERE and HERE). I'm sure they were all just jealous.

Sally: It's a little hard to see in the photo, but Sally's box reads 'Teen Pregnancy Beautiful' across the top. The best thing about this unfortunately named Shantou A2Z clone is that not only is she available in the expected places (alibaba), there are reports of her being sold in physical US stores. You can also get pregnant Sally without the moral panic inducing tagline.

Steffi Love: Simba Toys' Steffi Love spends a lot of time pregnant - there are a lot of pregnant versions of the doll, at any rate. The current range includes two pregnant dolls, Happy Family and Welcome Baby, within the 'Family' line of dolls. Earlier dolls were often called 'New Born Baby' Steffi, and came in a range of 90s looking maternity outfits. Boxed examples include:

☆  Baby Care Boy. Baby Care Girl.
☆  New Born Baby. Variations: one. two. three.
☆  2011 - present. Happy Family. Variations: one. two.
☆  2011 - present. Welcome Baby. Variations: one. two. three.

Susy: Not content with just one baby, Susy fell pregnant with twins in the early 1980s - and continued being pregnant with one or two babies right through the early 90s. I had this doll as a child and loved it, though I wasn't much into dolls then at all. She spent her days sitting in Barbie's Crystal Carriage, sleeping in Barbie's Outdoor Fun camping playset, and coming to terms with the fact I mislaid one of the twins within a few weeks of owning her. For more info on the Susy range of dolls, check out THIS awesome partial reference site. Lots more Susy reference pics are to be found at dollplanet.ru, HERE. The pregnant dolls I came across are:

☆  Blue dress with white lace and single baby.
☆  Neon dress with twins.
☆  Pink dress with twins.
☆  Pink frilly dress with single baby.
☆  Another pink dress with twins.
☆  Pink polkadot dress with single baby.
☆  In the US Hasbro repackaged the above pictured version of Susy as Mommy's Secret Surprise in 1993. That doll too used batteries so the babies could 'cry' as they were being born.

Trailer Trash - Trash Talkin' Turleen: Another gag gift, the Daily Mail describes Trailer Trash dolls Turleen and Jer Wayne Jr as US doll equivalents of Wayne and Waynetta Slob. The first Trailer Trash doll, created by Daniel Libby, was released back in 1999 - check out 'Little Miss Guzzler' HERE. She was later joined by a Drag Queen, Turleen, and Jer Wayne Jr (2006), with the dolls available for around $30 (£18) each in the mid to late 2000s. These days, the secondary market is the only way to go. You can see a video of Turleen's talkin' action HERE.

Lammily: When it's all over you can even get stick on stretch marks - Lammily sells them as part of their 'Lammily Marks' set ($7).

For further reading I recommend "Your Kids Say 'Mom', Your Clothes Say Otherwise ": Pregnant Fashion Dolls and Visual Culture by Sara Wilson McKay and Denise Baxter, which is available to read online HERE.

Song of the Day:

I Wanna Have Your Babies - Natasha Bedingfield.

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