IS post-natal depression hereditory?

Question

I had PND with both of my kids, and so did my sister and my aunt when they had their kids.
Is this just strange, or does anyone know if there is evidence to show if it is hereditory?

Answer 1

i had post natal depression after my 3rd,none of my family have ever experienced it (2 sisters, mum, - 13 pregnancies between them) so i think it must be just a hormonal imbalance not hereditary...
and to them ones out there that think it does not exist obviously have never had any kind of depression.
i had it for 3 years .i would lock myself in the house,not answer the door or phone,i hated myself ,my middle child who was 6 at the time,didn't particularly want to be around my hubby but when he was away with work missed him like crazy,lots of other things went on to which i'd rather not go into,i will just say that i was a nightmare to live with...and would not wish it on my worst enemy.
when i thought it was all gone i stopped taking the medication but within a few weeks it crept back and i had to go back on the tablets.after 3 years the doctor eventually decided that i was ok,i still get the odd day where i dont want to socialise, i rather just sit in the house on my own but i think everyone has days like that once in a blue moon...
i am due to have my 4th baby in july and i am really scared of having it again,if you've had it once apparently there's more of a chance of having it again,my hubby is dreading it but he was a godsend the last time,a lot of men would'nt of put up with it & would of probably walked out... obviously i ended up with on of the good uns LOL.

Answer 2

Post natal depression does exist (you already know that). It generally caused by a fluctuation in hormones which can then lead onto normal depression. Some doctors have found a link to say that depression can occur within families although its never been proved or disproved. Personally I think it probably is, as depression and mental illness runs in families. Your family doctor will be the best person to guide and if you feel down contact them for help and guidance.

Answer 3

Over the last five years I had begun to have increasingly withdraw into a downward spiral of depression..

But now with the method I can fully focus my energy and thoughts into a decisive line on how to make my life better constantly. And it works like magic! I'm beginning to attract people to me once again and things have just been looking up since then.

Helping you eliminate depression?

Answer 4

i'm optimistic they are in a position to be afflicted by some variety of melancholy, subject in adjusting to the hot parental place, in having a newborn in the residing house while before there have been none. jointly as that's not positioned up natal or positioned up partum (those are at once touching directly to childbirth and are attributed to the hormonal fluctuations from being pregnant and childbirth), any important existence replace including adoption may additionally deliver a feeling of melancholy and subject in adjusting to a sparkling existence type, i think. And definite, i think in adoption, some adoptive father and mom could bond extra unquestionably than others, compounding the challenge.

Answer 5

It's not necessarily hereditary, but if your mother or aunt had it, you are more likely to get it as well. When you fill out a family medical history at the OB, one of the things they ask about is if you have a family history of post-partum depression.

My grandmother had severe depression when my mom and her brothers and sisters were little, to the point that she tried to kill herself and had to spend time in a mental hospital. My mom had post-partum depression with both of her kids, but medication helped her. I'm having a baby soon, and I know that I need to really look out for the symptoms of depression because I am pre-disposed to it.

Answer 6

I don't know if it is hereditary or not. My Gran had 17 babies and never had PND. My mother did not get it but I had it with my third child and one of my daughters had it with her first. I do know that it is due to a hormone imbalance. Whatever the cause it is horrible when you have it and thank goodness "they" know how to cure it with time.

Answer 7

sorry i dont know of any evidence some people will tell you depression is a mental illness which is hereditary but post natal depression can affect a very large proportion of women but it is easilly overcome in most cases unfortunately the sufferer is usually the last to know they have it

Answer 8

It's not hereditary. I think it's phsycologically contageous. I don't believe in postpartum depression, sorry! You just have to pull yourself together and do what you gotta do, for your baby's sake. Life is not a bed of roses, and especially when it changes with the arrival of a baby. Other than that, I think everyone has a reason to get really depressed.

It's like a restless leg syndrom. Everyone had it but nobody complained until they came up with this diagnosis, now everyone has RLS. I think it's the same with postpartum depression. People never knew it was a desease until doctors diagnosed it. Have you heard a saying: "There are no healthy people anymore - there are the sick and the potential patients."?

Answer 9

Don't think so I'm the only one in my family

Answer 10

no, it's hormonal