{"id":9216,"date":"2026-04-08T12:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/?p=9216"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:08:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:08:55","slug":"pih-brenda-bandy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/pih-brenda-bandy\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast episode 47: Brenda Bandy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listen now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https:\/\/share.transistor.fm\/e\/41765bc2\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9649a0d9 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-2fff173e-3a4d-4dc6-b261-0abc5fcc2200\"><a href=\"https:\/\/feeds.transistor.fm\/pioneers-in-health\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-11.png\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is RSS-Feed.png\" class=\"wp-image-6580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-11.png 320w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-11-300x75.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-cc066fe7-7bae-4813-b4c5-2a537f6ba338\"><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/pioneers-in-health\/id1743590014\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-9.png\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Apple-Podcasts.png\" class=\"wp-image-6578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-9.png 320w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-9-300x75.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-d84c7149-75a6-4eb7-a2b9-8ecad6ba840f\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3jka7vMKpBCEacwnrhdLgw\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-10.png\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Spotify.png\" class=\"wp-image-6579\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-10.png 320w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-10-300x75.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-62fca925-59ab-4ffa-ba8d-7087a7255ec5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/7e986df9-578e-416a-b3bf-3c78473c70a8\/pioneers-in-health\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-8.png\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Amazon-Music.png\" class=\"wp-image-6577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-8.png 320w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-8-300x75.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-b1457c2f-42fe-42d3-b614-bdbca33fa59c\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome to the <a href=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/pioneers-in-health\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"6150\">Pioneers in Health podcast<\/a>. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 23%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>In episode 47, we interview <a href=\"https:\/\/ksbreastfeeding.org\/team\/brenda-bandy\/\">Brenda Bandy<\/a>, executive director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ksbreastfeeding.org\">Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, Inc.<\/a> The Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition promotes breastfeeding support through advocacy and education across the state of Kansas.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ksbreastfeeding.org\/team\/brenda-bandy\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"797\" height=\"797\" src=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brenda-headshot-2023-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9218 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brenda-headshot-2023-1.jpg 797w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brenda-headshot-2023-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brenda-headshot-2023-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brenda-headshot-2023-1-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In this episode, Brenda shares how becoming a mother sparked her interest in becoming involved in breastfeeding advocacy, which became her life&#8217;s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I like to say that it began the day my first child was born. Becoming a mom was the beginning,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I became an advocate the day I became a mom.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She had challenges with breastfeeding and reached out to La Leche League, which supports breastfeeding mothers, for help. She then began volunteering with that organization, where she helped for almost 20 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As she helped moms, she discovered there were common issues many women faced. She started to see there could be a larger impact possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I thought, &#8216;Oh, if we could only talk to your employer, if we could only talk to the physician&#8217;s office or hospital, maybe this could fix the problem for a lot of people and not just one person,&#8221; she said. &#8220;So that&#8217;s kind of what got me curious about how can we work to fix problems further upstream.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She has now worked in breastfeeding advocacy for several decades and oversees the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition to provide education and support statewide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>In this episode, she also discusses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The benefits of breastfeeding for both babies and mothers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The background and mission of Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, Inc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Breastfeeding initiation and duration rates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The business case for breastfeeding<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The role hospitals and doctors have in increasing breastfeeding rates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The role lactation specialists play<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The First 1,000 Days program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Paid leave for mothers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What gives her hope<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Brenda is an innovative leader in Kansas.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" id=\"block-1b1c93a7-add0-4bfc-a94e-9cc5b459d210\"><strong>Please see the <a href=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/pioneers-in-health\/\"><em>Pioneers in Health<\/em> page<\/a> on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes. <\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/pioneers-in-health\/\" style=\"background-color:#1f2d4a\">View other episodes<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen now Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode! Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health. In episode 47, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9216"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9248,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216\/revisions\/9248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}