specular reflection but most importantly by noting the wetted area on both the drop side and the opposite side the diffusion of the drop within the batt and its passage towards an absorbent towel placed beneath the batt the differential wetting characteristics of the two surfaces of this unstabilized and unbonded structure thus provide for controlled movement of fluid away from the hydrophobic face of the shield with minimal wetting of the upper surface the nonabsorbent fibers adjacent to layer 11 further assist in carrying moisture away from the body thus optimizing the comfort to the wearer by keeping the upper surface drier to the touch surprisingly even though the structure contains a substantial proportion of hydrophobic fibers it will retain a greater quantity of fluid than an equivalent weight structure formed entirely of hydrophilic paper fluff thus in comparative tests an absorptive layer of 115 pound per 320 square yards basis weight 0 1158 gram per square inch was found to retain 9 36 times its weight of fluid in contrast the absorptive layer of a commercially available product used for garment protection during light flow of the menses weighing 0 1106 gram per square inch calculated retained 6 39 times its weight of fluid both tests were conducted following the general procedure outlined in the absorbency and pressure tests methods developed by grain processing corp published in nonwovens amp disposable soft goods august 1973 page 8 in which retained fluid is measured after saturation and following compression at 1 psi approximately body pressure in use in other embodiments of the present invention the absorptive portion of the shield may.