Y O U R F A M I L Y

In safe hands: Rest assured, parents: A national study shows that child care itself does not harm a mother's bond with her child.

The massive movement in recent decades toward alternative forms of child care in Ameri-can families has generated an unsettling question: Does the use of child care itself affect children's attachments to their mothers? The answer is no, according to a national study that included Deborah Vandell, professor of educational psychology and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Vandell is one of 25 researchers in the study, supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study has followed more than 1,300 families in 10 locales around the nation since 1991. So far it has focused on various child-care arrangements in the first 15 months of life,

If the mother's interaction with her infant is sensitive, then the child is likely to develop a secure relationship with her, regardless of child-care arrangements.

including father care, grandparent care, care by a nonrelative in the child's home, family day care and center-based care. Vandell and colleagues found that nonmaternal child care by itself does not constitute a threat to the security of the infant-mother bond: If the mother's interaction with her infant is sensitive,then the child is likely to develop a secure relation-ship with her, regardless of child-care arrangements. On the other hand, the study showed evidence that child care can add to the risks already inherent in maternal insensitivity. That is, when mothers are relatively insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of their infants, child-care conditions can exacerbate those troubled relationships. Those conditions include child care that is of poor quality, changes frequently or extends beyond 10 hours a week. To assess the security of infants' attachment to their mothers, Vandell and the other investigators used a laboratory measure known as the "strange situation" procedure. It is designed to expose infants - at age 15 months, in this case - to mild stress by separating them from their mothers for a few minutes. Secure infants reestablish positive contact with their mothers following these brief separations, while insecure infants either ignore and avoid their mother or are not reassured by her return. The study also confirmed that higher-quality child care comes with smaller groups of children, more adults per child and more sensitive caregivers. Those factors give children great stimulation and attention. Ranked lowest by those criteria were child-care centers, and ranked highest were care by fathers or relatives or by a caregiver in the home. Next up for Vandell and the study: an exami-nation of children's bonds to their mothers at 3 years old, as well as their cognitive and language development, physical development, health, behavior and relationships with peers.

Dog's best friend: Thanks to hip-replacement surgery techniques originally perfected for humans, Rover can roll over.

Innovative minds are making life better for man's best friend. Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine are now adapt-ing surgical techniques used for humans to treat dogs afflicted with hip dysplasia, a condition that can lead to lameness and a crippling, painful arthritis for family pets. Typical signs of dysplasia include lameness after exercising, less tolerance for exercising, reduced muscle mass in the rear limbs and decreased ability to extend the hip joint. The disorder most often afflicts larger breeds such as Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and German Shepherds. The work of veterinary surgeon Paul Manley is offering a second chance to dogs like Chess, a German Shepherd and best friend of Kathie Huncosky of Green Bay. Last year, when Chess started having trouble climbing stairs, Huncosky made an appointment to have her euthanized. "I had another dog before Chess, and I had to put her down because of dysplasia," Huncosky remem-bers. "I knew what was coming, and a lot of tears were shed. I didn't want to see her suffer." But after learning about the work being done at UW-Madison, Huncosky decided to see if surgery was an option for Chess. After total hip replacement surgery, Chess is as rambunctious as ever. Modeling his techniques after those used on humans, Manley has developed ways to relieve dysplasia with total hip replacement or creation of a false joint. Approximately 90 percent of dogs

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Approximately 90 percent of dogs who undergo hip replacement surgery at UW-Madison's Veterinary Medicine school return to full function.

experiencing total hip replacement surgery will return to full function, he says. Surgery also can be performed on younger dogs to head off dysplasia. Procedures average $1,000 to $2,000, which, considering the success rate, some consider a bargain. Says Huncosky of Chess, "She's my family, and I would definitely do it all over again."

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