"The aim is to have a more novel way of getting young people to be really
conscious of the risk of becoming fathers or mothers at a young age."
The northern border state of Chihuahua suffers from one of the highest rates of
teen-age pregnancy in the country, with 20 percent of babies being born to
mothers aged 19 or younger, Huidobro said.
Some of the dolls can show symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol or drugs, as if
they were the offspring of addicts.
The uncannily lifelike plastic dolls, called RealCare babies, are also used in
programs in the United States and Britain. In Mexico, Toluca-based company
Sucisa also sells them to health clinics in other parts of the country.
Students in Chihuahua are mostly horrified at the amount of work involved in
looking after a baby, which they take home at night, Huidobro said.
"There's been a good response," she said. "They all agree it's not the right
time for that kind of responsibility."
