Leave it to women to make a crochet doll for girls that would teach them about giving birth. It's bound to become viral. If that's not a creative genius, what is?
Crochet is becoming a sensational trend on Tiktok today. And the kinds of things that you can make out of crochet are something of a pandora's box - you'll just never know what that ball of yarn can do. And, it's all thanks to the pandemic.
Katie Lou Creates a Mama
A woman by the name of Katie Lou owns an arts and craft store where she makes everything crochet. By everything, we mean everything. From shawls to coasters to small stuffed toys. So, it's no wonder at all why she thought of the best way to make use of her yarn - to make a crocheted doll that can teach kids about pregnancy, giving birth, and breastfeeding.
The crochet doll is full-term pregnant, styled with a blue dress and a tiny headband. Underneath the dress is doll mama's pregnant belly, stuffed with a crocheted naked baby. The child can be squeezed out of the mama's belly via vaginal birth. It's complete with an umbilical cord, placenta, eyes, nose, and mouth.
Katie Lou knew even before posting a pic of her creation, that her audience will definitely ask for some inclusivity because not all women go through vaginal birth. So, the doll has a slit underneath the pregnant belly to illustrate cesarean birth.
Then, to illustrate how breastfeeding is done, she put snap fasteners on the crochet doll's breast and on the child's mouth. How creative is that?
Katie posted pictures of her creations, and the post went viral. It now has 6,300 likes. Because of her birthing dolls' popularity, her followers are encouraging her to sell her work, but she said that she will only do so once her "emotional attachment to the work" comes off.
Birthing Doll on Tiktok
The trend set crochet makers on a challenge. A stay-at-home mum named Shari even made it her speciality. She took to Tiktok and posted videos of the different kinds of pregnant crochet dolls that she made, with the starting price at $325.
@stitched_by_shari They aren’t for everyone, but they are for educational purposes. So be nice! ?♥️ ♬ Paris - Else
A follower commented on one of Shari's posts and complained about how expensive the doll was. And crochet makers came to Shari's defence, saying that crochet-making is a work of art. These masterpieces don't take just 1 hour to make. It's a process.
It takes her about 30 minutes to an hour to crochet every piece of the giving-birth doll. That doesn't include the process it takes to crochet the babies and the dresses and headpieces of the doll.
And it's not just the hours but also the high quality of the materials used for the dolls. Shari usually takes 11 hours to make just one set. So, given that, $325 is already fair.
Shari's pregnant crochet dolls come in different skin tones and can portray different types of births (caesarian, vaginal, single, twins, triplets). Talk about inclusivity. Now, that's how you show everybody that you mean business.
Some of Shari's videos have already reached over a million views and got different reactions.
Crochet Doll that Gives Birth: Creepy or Cool?
After these women's creations became viral online, many women also took to the comment section to share their appreciation. Several commended these ladies for their creations. One Tiktok user said,
"I absolutely LOVE this. What an amazing way to teach children about birth."
Some users thanked them for the inclusivity. And, some gave advice about how to expand the idea, so much so that the doula and midwife community have reached out and purchased, so they can use the dolls as visuals to explain childbirth.
Some even made suggestions on how to improve the birthing dolls. A medical professional commented about the positioning of the baby in the womb. For accuracy, Katie and Shari might want to consider using the anterior position, where the baby's head is facing the mum's buttocks, as the posterior position is not an ideal way to deliver a baby.
Like anything on social media, Katie and Shari are not new to negative comments. Some of the feedback they get say that the dolls were "personally abusive." These women made it clear that their intention with their creations is to spread awareness and educate.
So, if their viewers would have any negative insights about their creations, their advice is usually for these viewers to "keep scrolling then."
@stitched_by_shari Every birth story is beautiful ? #pregnancy #midwive #doula #obgyn #breastfeeding #birth #crochet ♬ You Are Enough - Sleeping At Last
With birthing dolls becoming a global phenomenon, it's exciting to see what these creative ladies are up to next.
Mums and dads, would you consider giving your child this doll? Let us know in the comments!
ALSO READ:
New Study Shows Playing With Dolls Helps Children Develop Empathy