Patent ID: 7621900

Claim:
An absorbent garment comprising: a front body panel comprising a first pair of opposite side edges spaced equidistance from a longitudinally extending centerline, a first terminal waist edge, a first terminal crotch edge longitudinally spaced from said first terminal waist edge along at least said centerline, a first outermost body side surface and a first outermost garment side surface; a rear body panel comprising a second pair of opposite side edges, a second terminal waist edge, a second terminal crotch edge longitudinally spaced from said second terminal waist edge along at least said centerline, a second outermost body side surface and a second outermost garment side surface, wherein said second terminal crotch edge is longitudinally spaced from said first terminal crotch edge along at least said centerline so as to form a gap between said first and second terminal crotch edges, and wherein said first and second terminal crotch edges intersect said centerline; a crotch member connecting said front and rear body panels, said crotch member bridging said gap and extending across said first and second terminal crotch edges of said front and rear body panels along at least said centerline, wherein said crotch member is directly connected to each of said front and rear body panels; and at least one reinforcement element having a length and a width, said at least one reinforcement element secured directly to at least one of said first and second outermost body side surfaces and said first and second outermost garment side surfaces of said front and rear body panels adjacent to at least one of said first and second terminal crotch edges of said respective front and rear body panels.