Jenny Seagrove was unhappy with the film's constant re-writes, and wanted to make a completely different film. She said to The Guardian in 2007: "It was about this druid nanny who became a tree. I begged Universal to make it about a real nanny who kidnaps babies. 'No, no, we can't do that,' they said, 'the thirty somethings in America won't come and see the film.' I said, 'I think you're completely wrong; this film is total fantasy, and it's just awful.' Two years later Die Hand an der Wiege (1992) was released, so I rang up my friend at Universal and he said, 'Don't. Don't even talk about it, you were right.' "
One of only two feature films that William Friedkin wrote nothing about, positive or negative, in his memoir The Friedkin Connection (see also Das Bombengeschäft (1983)).
Was to originally be directed by Sam Raimi, but he left the project early to direct Darkman (1990). Producers brought in William Friedkin, and the project suffered through several re-writes sending co-writer Stephen Volk into a breakdown. Friedkin eventually took over the writing duties.
A new effects crew was brought onto the scene after the initial tree failed to work mechanically. The new team constructed a tree that held 500 gallons of fake blood and detachable bark.
The delivery scene used real footage of an actual live birth.