According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, 6.1 million American women and their partners experience difficulties in conceiving a child. Worldwide it is estimated that 10 to 15% of couples of childbearing age experience infertility. Many of these families will turn to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Studies have shown that including hypnotherapy in their treatment can double their success rate. The Journal of the American Medical Women's Association reported in 1999 that 42% of women were able to conceive within six months of being taught mind/body relaxation techniques. Additionally, these women were able to affectively decrease their levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Other studies have been conducted, all with similar results.

In an article by Suzy Greaves entitled "Can Hypnosis Help to Make You Pregnant?" Dr. Elizabeth Muir, a clinical psychologist who uses hypnotherapy for infertility, explains that hypnosis does have an effect on the hypothalamus-the neural center located at the base of the brain and linked to the pituitary gland-and controls the flow of hormones in the body. The hypothalamus is sensitive to stress and acts as a bridge between the emotional and physical, turning emotional messages into physical responses that impact hormone levels. According to Greaves, Muir believes that the psychological issues surrounding pregnancy are not sufficiently well addressed for many women with fertility problems.

Studies conducted by Alice Domar, PhD, director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Behavioral Medicine Program for Infertility in Boston support Muir's theory that unresolved issues about having a baby can be removed with counseling and mind/body techniques such as hypnotherapy. In the first of Domar's studies, published in 1999 in the Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 42% of 132 infertile women in the program conceived within six months of completing it. In the second study, published in 2000 in the journal Fertility and Sterility, 55% of the previously infertile women who met regularly in a mind/body program conceived, compared with 20% of the control group who used no mind/body techniques and who did not attend meetings.

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