Lucille Ball was the first woman to be pregnant on sitcom television — even if she couldn’t say so

Lucille Ball’s pregnancy caused ripples through her professional life.

In the first episode of CW’s TV We Love, a multipart series celebrating eight of the most iconic American television shows and their lasting impact on audiences and culture, there is a look back at the comedian’s historic pregnancy.

The joyous news came at the height of her I Love Lucy fame. While Ball and husband/costar Desi Arnaz were delighted to be expecting their second child, two parties were decidedly less excited — CBS and the show’s biggest sponsor, Philip Morris.

“CBS and Philip Morris did not want Lucy Ricardo to be pregnant. Philip Morris essentially said, ‘In no uncertain terms, we’re not moving forward with this show if there’s going to be a Ricardo baby. That’s not going to work for us. She can’t be pregnant on TV,’ ” Dana Sumner-Pritchard, host of The Ricardo Project: An I Love Lucy Podcast, explains.

Still, Ball and her team felt differently and believed the pregnancy could play out on the show. Arnaz even personally appealed to the President and CEO of Philip Morris.

“The studio heads were freaking out. The sponsors were freaking out… And then a memo comes through from Philip Morris that says, ‘Don’t F with the Cuban,’ ” Sumner-Pritchard shared.

There were other hurdles to clear, however. For example, CBS forbade the use of the word “pregnant” in any episode discussing Lucy, who was referred to as “expectant” throughout. They also paid close attention to Ball’s appearance.

“Once she started showing, they put her in really baggy shirts so that it’s not too obvious. They had a minister, a priest and a rabbi on set to make sure nothing was offensive,” Sumner-Pritchard notes.

The behind-the-scenes drama was overshadowed by the beauty of the scene where Lucy finally does tell Ricky they’re having a baby. He sings “We’re Having a Baby,” and both of them get teary-eyed over the moment.

Offscreen, the couple had navigated several miscarriages. They welcomed daughter Lucie on July 17, 1951, via caesarean section, just months before I Love Lucy premiered. Ball welcomed son Desi in January 1953.

“When we did this scene before an audience, Desi was suddenly struck by all the emotion he’d felt when we discovered we were finally going to have Lucie. His eyes filled up and he couldn’t finish the song; I started to cry, too,” Ball wrote in her book, Love, Lucy.

“Vivian started to sniffle; even the hardened stagehands wiped their eyes with the backs of their hands. The director wanted retakes at the end of the show, but the audience stood up and shouted, ‘No, no!'”

Lucy gave birth to Little Ricky the same day that Ball welcomed son Desi Jr., by design. “It is not a coincidence that the scheduled C-section of Lucille Ball’s baby is on the same day that the episode airs,” says Journey Gunderson, Executive Director, National Comedy Center, in the docuseries.