Star Trek: 10 Biggest Takeaways From Open A Channel: A Woman's Trek
8. Clashing Pregnancies Creating Disparity
Though Nana Visitor joined Star Trek a couple of years after Gates McFadden - and, in fact, a couple of years after Gates rejoined the franchise - she speaks about a clash that affected them both.
While filmed Remember Me, Gates McFadden discovered that she was pregnant. She went to the producers and writers, asking for the pregnancy to be written into The Next Generation. This was to combat the television trope of hiding pregnant women behind panels, desks, briefcases and the like. She was told no - as there was already a pregnancy being written into Deep Space Nine.
Visitor believed that it was her own pregnancy that was the clash. However, there is an issue of timing here. McFadden gave birth in 1991, while Deep Space Nine went into production in 1992. It is more likely that there was a clash somewhere in the franchise that caused this decision, though the result was the same.
Dr. Crusher spent much of the fourth season wearing that baggy lab coat, rather than attempting to work her pregnancy in. One could argue that, years later, Jack Crusher's age lines up with this time period - though that introduces a whole host of new questions on-screen!