When there's a baby on the way, your average dad, and even the above average one, needs answers-and needs them fast. Clear, concise, and accurate, Dad's Playbook delivers these in abundance, whether the new father reads it during the weeks leading up to the big day (highly recommended!), or grabs it on the fly for instant answers and strategies during the heat of battle. Each year, more than 3.5 million American dads are present for the birth of their new babies. Dad's Playbook is an essential resource for them. Written jointly by a mother who is a certified doula and childbirth educator and by her husband, the Playbook tells fathers, in a voice at once authoritative, optimistic, and humorous, how- and when-to communicate with nurses, doctors, relatives, friends, the new baby's siblings, and, especially, the new mother herself. On the medical side, it homes in on the four areas that dads and moms are most concerned with during labor and birth: when to go to the hospital; making last-minute decisions about a cesarean delivery; questions about pain-killing interventions; and interpreting what the medical staff says about the baby's wellness. On the psychological side, it helps fathers cope with their own feelings as well as their partners', and it helps them manage the engagement of siblings and other relatives.