Pictured, top row from left, are Lucinda Ann Marsh, Hiral Patel and Alexandria James. Bottom row, from left, are Cristen Wilkins, Julie Thompson, Bekah Windsor.

The Labor of Love Doula Program has added several area residents to its board of directors.

New board members are: Alexandria James of Panama, who works as a customer development manager; Lucinda Ann Marsh of Sugar Grove, who owns and is a chiropractor at Marsh Chiropractic; and Hiral Patel in Warren, who owns and is a chiropractor at Warren Family Chiropractic.

Remaining board members include Bekah Windsor of Dewittville, a stay-at-home mother, and Cristen Wilkins of Warren, a Northwest Bank employee.

The Labor of Love Doula Program is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and was founded by Julie Thompson of Sugar Grove in 2013. Along with Thompson, there are two other doulas, Sparkelynn Odebralski from Fredonia and Mary Hetrick from Jamestown, all who have been trained by DONA International.

The goal of the program is to have a Doula available for every person who wants one before, during and after their birth in the post-partum period. A doula is a one-on-one support person who stays with the laboring mother until a couple of hours after her birth. The organization provides breastfeeding support as well.

A sliding fee scale is available to all mothers depending on their income. Since the beginning of the program in 2013, the doulas have assisted in 44 births, 28 of which have been free births. Therefore, 64 percent of the births have been at no cost to mothers

For more information, visit doulaslaboroflove.com.