Is postnatal depression hereditary?

This was a question that a friend had asked me the other day and I thought I may as well blog about it.  The answer was that I didn't quite know... I know there are some friends who worry about this as their mothers went through it... I think certainly my mothers generation were always told to "get on with it" which they did and had to . It wasn't recognized back then or as many things, it was covered up quite well.  They say that it can be chemical imbalances, life events, and emotional factors such as whether or not we can breast feed or if we have a supportive partner ect. In that sense as all of our circumstances are completely different, I would say no.  However, depression on its own can apparently be hereditary ... I don't know where I sit with this as I do believe that we have life choices and that if we really want to change something, we will. But I did not choose to have PND , so I guess I think that there is truth in the hormonal imbalance theory. I also believe in the other factors as well though. I think the consistency of either a traumatic birth or event....as well as the treatment in hospitals from health professionals.  Should we have more "home" births providing we have a trouble free pregnancy?

Does this change the way in which we cope with it and should cope with it? Does putting labels on things help or hinder us?Do we feel comfortable in knowing what we have and is it a sense of relief to refer to something with a label in order to cope with the feelings that we experience? Feel free to answer as it would be interesting to hear what other people have to say.

Personally, I can feel uncomfortable with a label, it really goes back to the stigma relating to any kind of depression . Its like I felt separate from the rest of the world knowing that people could refer to me as the mother who went through PND. Like I didn't love my child the same as any other mother.  I think I found it particularly difficult when I was changing doctor surgeries and when trying to arrange an appointment with the receptionist, before my notes came over, I had to break down in tears before they would give me one even though the doctor had already agreed. I felt like the crazy lady who was given sympathy with a label. If that makes any sense? Again, like most of my posts, they are all over the place.. just like my life as a parent!LOL