The invention concerns an absorbent article (1) in the form of a sanitary napkin or incontinence pad having longitudinal side edges and transversal end edges and comprising a fluid permeable topsheet (8), a fluid impermeable backsheet (9) and an absorbent core (10) located between the topsheet (8) and the backsheet (9). The absorbent core (10) comprises a first absorbent layer (11) having an opening (12) extending there through and a fluid flow control structure (13) located between said first absorbent layer (11) and said backsheet (9). An elastic member (16) is arranged along each longitudinal side edge (2, 3) of the absorbent article (1). The first absorbent layer (11) has a longitudinal front portion (6) and a longitudinal back portion (7) and a narrow transversal transition (14) located between said front portion (6) and said back portion (7). The width of the narrow transversal transition (14) is 50-75% of the widest transversal width of the front portion (6) of the first absorbent layer (11) and 20-50% of the longitudinal length of the opening (12) is located in the front portion (6) of the first absorbent layer (11). The front portion (6) of the first absorbent layer (11) constitutes 20-40% of the total longitudinal length of the first absorbent layer (11). An interspace (17) is located in an area between the elastic member (16) and the first absorbent layer (11) at least in an area laterally outside the narrow transversal transition (14).
