An absorbent article has a liquid permeable top sheet, a substantially liquid impermeable, preferably water vapor permeable back sheet, and a selectively stretchable absorbent composite between the top sheet and the back sheet. The selectively stretchable absorbent composite is more stretchable in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and can be stretched to at least 150% of an initial length in the first direction. The absorbent composite has a selectively stretchable substrate layer and a plurality of pockets in or on the substrate layer. The pockets each contain a quantity of superabsorbent material, which can swell when exposed to a liquid insult. When the substrate is stretched, the pockets become spaced further apart, thereby promoting comfort and alleviating gel blocking caused by adjacent pockets swelling toward each other.
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