Importance

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Abstract

A breathable barrier which includes: A. a first layer which is a porous sheet having a first side and a second side; and B. a second layer joined to the first side of the first layer, which second layer is a continuous film of a water-soluble polymeric material, in which: the film is not microporous in that it is substantially free of voids which connect the two surfaces of the film; water molecules are capable of being transported through the thickness of the film as a result of the solubility of the water molecules in the polymeric material; and the film has an average thickness of from about 3 to about 250 microns; wherein the first layer side of the second layer is intimately comingled with at least some of the fibers at the surface of the first side of the first layer, none of the pores at the surface of the first side of the first layer are so large as to significantly adversely affect the barrier properties of the breathable barrier as a consequence of the comingling, and the breathable barrier has a water vapor transmission rate at 37 degrees C. and about 50 percent relative humidity of from about 100 to about 5,000 g/m.sup.2 /24 hours and is impermeable to 0.9 percent by weight saline solution at about 21 degrees C. for a period of at least about one hour at a hydrostatic head of at least about 11.4 cm. In place of a coating, the continuous film can be a preformed film of a water-soluble polymeric material which is laminated to the porous sheet. In preferred embodiments, the water-soluble polymeric material is a poly(vinyl alcohol) and the porous sheet is a meltblown nonwoven web. The disclosed breathable barriers are especially useful as outer covers and baffles in such disposable absorbent articles as diapers, sanitary napkins, and incontinent pads.

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First Claim