"BF-ing might be natural, normal and a completely accepted part of life in African families, but women do not whop'em out in the bank."
Actually, they do exactly that. I recall being in Mozambique and seeing a lady chatting to a group of 3-4 men, baby in sling on her back. Baby started to grumble so she just swung the sling round, pulled her breast right out and gave it to the baby without the men or anyone else batting an eyelid.
That's the way that it is, culturally. That's one reason why BF rates are so strong, because it's totally normalised and accepted - a good job given Nestle's attempts to undermine it, and the fact that formula is often a death sentence in many parts of Africa - and not BF clearly means that the population of Africa would somewhat reduce, fast, unlike here where there are more options. People DO learn from what they see, as tbb claims, because it's going on all the time, in the house, out and about - not just the odd time you may spot someone in the corner of a cafe (oohh let me take a closer look so I can learn).
We're SO far behind that here it's just not funny - and actually people "whopping 'em out" is not going to change that, and given the cultural unnacceptance of breasts here, that's just the way it is.
However, many of you lot should be ashamed of yourselves, BF against BF. I don't for one cotton picking minute think that this lady in the OP "whopped 'em out". I think that the "DH" in question perhaps saw a flash of nipple and most of a breast. Well, as many have pointed out, this is often the only possible way to latch a baby, especially for the bigger-breasted woman - but also for the smaller one, too.
The "DH" was dealing with the Grandmother, therefore it was not rude for the mother to do something else at the same time.
The fact that the baby was not crying is irrelevant. Many babies won't latch easily when they get so hungry that they start to cry. When the "DH" becomes a BF expert, perhaps he could decide better than the mother the best time to get her baby latched, but until then, he has no right to judge whether it was necessary or not.
I'm not advocating discreet or non-discreet BF. Personally, I don't care what choices people make - I'm fully supportive of all. If the "DH" was shocked, that was his problem, not the mother's and certainly not the baby's. All I say is, good on her for managing to BF her baby and making the healthiest choice for the both of them. And OP, you and your DH should be ashamed that his prejudice is being shared in a way that undermines the confidence of other women to make their own choices - although you should be proud of him for hiding his discomfort. That was admirable.