An absorbent article (20) for personal hygiene having a front edge (10) and a back edge (12) and comprising a liquid impermeable backsheet (25), a liquid permeable topsheet (24), an absorbent core (28) and a pair of barrier leg cuffs (34) disposed symmetrically relative to the longitudinal axis. Each barrier leg cuff is defined by a proximal edge (36) attached to the rest of the article and an elasticized terminal edge 38 that can protrude upwards. The topsheet (24) comprises a raisable region (240) that is attached to the barrier leg cuffs at a position away from the proximal edge of the barrier leg cuff and not to the chassis of the article underneath, so that when the barrier leg cuffs are raised, the raisable region is lifted up by the barrier leg cuffs and an empty volume (300) is formed between the raisable region and the chassis of the article underneath. The absorbent core comprises at least one longitudinally-extending channel area (26), preferably a pair of such channel areas disposed symmetrically relative to the longitudinal axis.
