diff --git a/nbconvert/exporters/rst.py b/nbconvert/exporters/rst.py
index 1763e6fb7..23061f14e 100644
--- a/nbconvert/exporters/rst.py
+++ b/nbconvert/exporters/rst.py
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ def _template_name_default(self):
     def default_config(self):
         c = Config(
             {
+                "CoalesceStreamsPreprocessor": {"enabled": True},
                 "ExtractOutputPreprocessor": {"enabled": True},
                 "HighlightMagicsPreprocessor": {"enabled": True},
             }