A system is disclosed for detecting moisture in an absorbent article worn by a wearer including an impedance sensing element and an attachment member for securing the impedance sensing element at a location on an exterior surface of the absorbent article. The impedance sensing element includes electrodes. The electrodes are positioned so as to be capacitively coupled to an interior region of the absorbent article and to measure an impedance of the absorbent article from the location on the exterior surface of the absorbent article. The system may also include an impedance measurement subsystem for measuring the impedance of the absorbent article, and extracting a real component of the impedance and an imaginary component of the impedance for determining a characteristic of the moisture in the absorbent article.
