02.18.03
An absorbent article, comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet, a wetlaid absorbent composite, with a first and second stratum and a transition zone intermediate and coextensive with the first and second stratum has been patented. The first stratum comprises hydrophobic fibers and a binder; the second stratum comprising a binder and fibers selected from the group consisting of hydrophilic fibers, hydrophobic fibers, and mixtures thereof; and the transition zone comprising fibers from the first stratum and the second stratum commingled substantially uniformly across the composite's width and along the composite's length; (c) a storage stratum comprising an absorbent fibrous material; (d) an intermediate stratum interposed between the absorbent composite and the storage stratum; and (e) a liquid impervious backsheet.