This is a shorter version of the classic bestseller The Birth Partner, ideal for time-pressed parents, partners, and birthing professionals. It is a convenient and easy-to-use book that provides facts on the fly during the ultra-busy period before, during, and after labor and birth. An added planner keeps your plans and to-dos in one place. Generations of spouses and partners, as well as doulas, nurses, midwives, and other professionals, have relied on Penny Simkin's warm and wise guidance in caring for the new mother, from the last trimester through the early postpartum period. Her book The Birth Partner is the definitive guide to helping a woman through labor and birth, and The Birth Partner's Quick Reference Guide and Planner is a more-concise version of that book. For those who have the original book, it adds a planner component, for hospital or at-home birth plans and for other essential to-dos. It is full of reliable and up-to-date information on: