Patented is an integral disposable elasticized absorbent article which has a front waist portion, a back waist portion, a crotch portion, a pair of spaced apart leg openings, an absorbent core member, and means for tightly fitting the absorbent body to the body of the wearer. The absorbent article has a barrier layer which is comprised of one or more segments overlying portions of the absorbent core member, and defining one or more retaining enclosures between the barrier layer segments and the underlying portion of the absorbent core member.