Sanitary absorbent article with positioning flaps capable of gathering the undergarment to protect against wetting

A sanitary absorbent article, comprising:

• (A) a main body having opposed longitudinal side edges and a longitudinal centerline, said main body including:
• (i) a body-facing fluid-permeable upper layer intended for placement against a perineal region of a wearer in use,
• (ii) a garment-facing fluid-impervious lower layer, and
• (iii) an absorbent layer between the upper layer and the lower layer;
• (B) a first panel and a second panel, each panel integrally formed from the upper layer and the lower layer, said first panel extending from a first longitudinal side edge of said main body and said second panel extending from a second longitudinal side edge of said main body, the first longitudinal side edge being opposite the second longitudinal side edge, each panel further including:
• (i) a proximal end region adjacent to the longitudinal side edge of said main body,
• (ii) a distal end region extending laterally from the longitudinal side edge of the sanitary absorbent article, the proximal end and the distal end defining therebetween a body portion, the body portion being capable of being folded about a folding axis onto itself such that the distal end of the panel projects in a direction generally transverse to said longitudinal side edge laterally inward towards the longitudinal centerline of said main body on a garment-facing side of the sanitary absorbent article,
• (iii) a juncture zone within the body portion and adjacent the proximal end of said panel, the juncture zone attaching said panel to lower layer inwardly from the longitudinal side edge of said main body thereby defining a freely extending flap, wherein said flap has a width measured along an imaginary axis parallel to the longitudinal side edges of said main body and along the juncture zone, and wherein the juncture zone extends along an entire extent of the width,
• (iv) a looping member defined by a portion of the body portion of said panel between the proximal end and the juncture zone said flap being capable of being folded about an edge of an undergarment in a crotch portion thereof;
• and when said flap is in a folded condition about the edge of the undergarment said flap providing means for holding at least a portion of the edge of the undergarment inwardly of said longitudinal side edge, wherein the juncture zone of the first panel is separated from the juncture zone of said second panel by a distance measured at the respective transverse ends of the flaps, the distance being adapted to gather the edges of the undergarment inward toward the longitudinal centerline of the main body in an amount less than 25% of the original width of the undergarment.