Absorbent article

An absorbent article comprising an absorbent body containing an absorbent core and an outer cover joined to the garment facing side of the absorbent body, the outer cover having a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction and a front section, a crotch section, and a rear section in the longitudinal direction thereof, the front section and the rear section each having a waist portion and a below-waist portion, wherein

• the outer cover comprises an outer sheet, an inner sheet, and a plurality of elastic members between the outer and the inner sheets and has a composite stretch panel having a stretch direction in each of the front section and the rear section, the composite stretch panel forming a waist gather and a below-waist gather in the waist portion and the below-waist portion, respectively, in each of the front and the rear sections,
• the composite stretch panel having the outer sheet and the inner sheet bonded to each other at bonds discretely provided in the stretch direction and a direction perpendicular to the stretch direction and having the elastic members disposed at positions other than the bonds and fixed neither to the outer sheet nor the inner sheet at other than their opposite ends so that each of the outer sheet and the inner sheet forms a plurality of folds continuously extending over a plurality of the elastic members, and
• the waist portion having a smaller extension percentage in a middle part thereof in the lateral direction of the outer cover than outer parts on both sides of the middle part in the lateral direction of the outer cover.