Star Trek: Why Major Kira Was Pregnant In DS9 Season 5

Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) was suddenly pregnant late into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 and into season 5, and this was because the series found an ingenious way to work the actress’s real-life pregnancy into the story. After the addition of Worf (Michael Dorn) from Star Trek: The Next Generation to the cast, DS9 seasons 4 and 5 produced several classic episodes like “The Visitor,” “Our Man Bashir,” and “Trials and Tribble-ations,” but Kira’s instant pregnancy was one of the strangest events of that era.

The tough-as-nails Major Kira fought against the Cardassian occupation of Bajor all her life before accepting the position of Deep Space Nine’s First Officer as a member of the Bajoran Militia. Kira initially clashed with her Starfleet co-workers but gradually came to trust them, especially Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), whom she respected as her commanding officer but also revered as the Emissary to the Prophets of Bajor. Kira also had romantic relationships with Vedek Bareil Antos (Philip Anglim) and First Minister Shakaar Edon (Duncan Regehr) before finally falling in love with Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois). However, during her relationship with Shakaar and prior to Odo declaring his love for her, Kira unexpectedly became the surrogate mother of Chief Miles (Colm Meaney) and Keiko O’Brien’s (Rosalind Chao) unborn baby.

In “Body Parts,” the penultimate episode of DS9 season 4, Keiko was critically injured in an accident aboard a runabout. In order to save the baby, Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) transferred it to the only available undamaged womb — Kira’s. Now part of the O’Brien family, Kira’s pregnancy lasted until the 12th episode of DS9 season 5, “The Begotten,” when the O’Briens’ son Kirayoshi was born. Naturally, he was partly named for his surrogate mother. Amusingly, Kira’s pregnancy caused lots of awkward moments with Shakaar, her then-boyfriend, and Odo, who suffered from then-unrequited love for the Major. For his part, Chief O’Brien was a doting husband and father-to-be to both his wife and to Major Kira; Miles and Nerys developed feelings for each other that they mutually decided would be best not to act on. After Kirayoshi was born, Major Kira simply resumed her duties but remained close to the O’Briens.

In real-life, Nana Visitor and Alexander Siddig began a romantic relationship and she became pregnant. Rather than write Kira out for the duration of her pregnancy, or attempt what other TV series have done and “hide” their lead actresses pregnancy with blocking and creative camera angles, DS9‘s producers instead came up with an ingenious sci-fi solution. Kira becoming pregnant with the O’Briens’ baby kept Nana Visitor on the show and delicately wove her condition into the story.

DS9‘s season 5 premiere, “Apocalypse Rising,” even hilariously winked at the real reason that Nana Visitor was pregnant when Kira argued with Dr. Bashir and she chided him, “Don’t forget, this is still your fault.” Visitor and Siddig’s baby was born on September 16, 1996, during the production of the episode “Let He Who Is Without Sin” (a few episodes before Kirayoshi’s birth in “The Begotten”). They named their son Django El Tahir El Siddig and Andrew Robinson, who played Garak, is his godfather. Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor married a year later, but they divorced in 2001, a couple of years after Star Trek: Deep Space Ninewrapped up its 7-season run.

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