An absorbent core comprising: a front portion ; a back portion ; a middle portion positioned between the front portion and the back portion ; and a longitudinal axis extending along a length of said core and crossing said front, middle and back portions , the absorbent core having a width extending perpendicular to said length and a perimeter comprising at least two opposing ends and at least two opposing sides positioned between said ends , said core being a multi-layer core comprising at least two distinct core layers , wherein said core layers each comprise an absorbent material, and wherein a first core layer comprises a channel being substantially free of said absorbent material and having a first shape, and a second core layer comprises a further channel being substantially free of said absorbent material and having a second shape and wherein the first and second core layers are disposed one on top of the other such that a third channel shape is formed along said core length and width, and wherein said first and second shapes are substantially the same or different and said first and second shapes are different to said third shape, characterized in that said shape is the perimeter or contour of said channels when viewed over a plane formed by the core length and width excluding the thickness thereof, and wherein the first core layer and the second core layer comprise at least one core wrap substrate enclosing the absorbent material comprising a superabsorbent polymer therebetween and wherein a top layer of the core wrap is adhered to a bottom layer of the core wrap in regions of said core comprising the channel(s) , such that substantially no superabsorbent polymer is present in said channel(s) . a front portion ; a back portion ; a middle portion positioned between the front portion and the back portion ; and a longitudinal axis extending along a length of said core and crossing said front, middle and back portions , the absorbent core having a width extending perpendicular to said length and a perimeter comprising at least two opposing ends and at least two opposing sides positioned between said ends , said core being a multi-layer core comprising at least two distinct core layers , wherein said core layers each comprise an absorbent material, and wherein a first core layer comprises a channel being substantially free of said absorbent material and having a first shape, and a second core layer comprises a further channel being substantially free of said absorbent material and having a second shape and wherein the first and second core layers are disposed one on top of the other such that a third channel shape is formed along said core length and width, and wherein said first and second shapes are substantially the same or different and said first and second shapes are different to said third shape, characterized in that said shape is the perimeter or contour of said channels when viewed over a plane formed by the core length and width excluding the thickness thereof, and wherein the first core layer and the second core layer comprise at least one core wrap substrate enclosing the absorbent material comprising a superabsorbent polymer therebetween and wherein a top layer of the core wrap is adhered to a bottom layer of the core wrap in regions of said core comprising the channel(s) , such that substantially no superabsorbent polymer is present in said channel(s) . <EOS>