Absorbent article and method of making same

A protective undergarment comprising:

• a front portion and a back portion each having a waist area, a leg area longitudinally spaced from the waist area, and a belly area between the waist area and the leg area;
• a crotch insert having a front end overlapping with the front portion and a back end overlapping with the back portion at the belly area;
• and
• ultrasonic bonds fixing the front end of the crotch insert to the front portion and fixing the back end of the crotch insert to the back portion;
• wherein portions of the leg area of the front portion, the leg area of the back portion, and the crotch insert together define leg openings.

A method of manufacturing a protective undergarment comprising the steps of:

• forming front and back undergarment portions each having a belly area comprising a stretchable film;
• spacing the front and back undergarment portions longitudinally from one another;
• fixing a front end of a crotch insert to the front portion;
• and
• fixing a back end of the crotch insert to the belly area of the back portion by ultrasonic bonds to bridge a gap between said front and back undergarment portions.

A method of manufacturing a protective undergarment comprising the steps of:

• forming from at least one continuous web of material outer front and back portions each having a waist end and a crotch end longitudinally spaced from the waist end;
• applying stretchable film, under tension, onto each of the outer front and back portions at a belly area of each of the front and back portions;
• applying an ultrasonic bond to bond the stretchable film and the outer front and back portions;
• and
• fixing a front end of a crotch insert to the front portion and a back end of the crotch insert to the back portion thereby bridging a gap between the front and back portions.