Absorbent articles having undergarment covering components especially suited for folding around the edges of an undergarment

An absorbent article for wearing in a wearer's undergarment that has a crotch region with a pair of side edges, said absorbent article having a longitudinal dimension extending in a longitudinal direction and a transverse dimension extending in a transverse direction, said absorbent article comprising:

• a main body portion comprising an absorbent core, said main body portion having a body-facing side, a garment-facing side, a pair of longitudinal side edges, and a periphery;
• a pair of side wrapping elements for folding around the side edges of the wearer's undergarment, said side wrapping elements extending laterally outward beyond the longitudinal side edges of said main body portion a distance of less than or equal to one-half the width of said main body portion, to distal edges, said side wrapping elements having a transverse centerline that divides said side wrapping elements into opposite sides, said side wrapping elements comprising a zone of extensibility on opposite sides of said transverse centerline, and a less extensible intermediate region located between at least portions of said zone of extensibility, wherein said zone of extensibility is extensible generally in the longitudinal direction when folded around the side edges of an undergarment in an amount between about 20% and about 80% under forces of less than or equal to about 200 grams force, and said absorbent article comprises at least two regions having different bending properties, said regions comprising:
• a first region located in said main body portion inboard of the longitudinal side edges of said main body portion, said first region having a first bending modulus;
• and
• a second region comprising at least a portion of said side wrapping element, said second region having a second bending modulus which is lower than said first bending modulus so that the absorbent article is provided with a discontinuity in stiffness between said first region and said second region, wherein said side wrapping element can bend about the discontinuity in stiffness between said first region and said second region.