[header] How to decide if you should have kids when you have depression [title] Consider your personal and family history of mental illness. [step] Depression has a strong genetic component. Someone whose parents or siblings have had depression has two to three times the average risk of developing the condition themselves. 
The risk increases even more sharply for people whose close relatives have had multiple depressive periods. While depression isn't always handed down from parents to children, be aware that it does happen frequently.