A wound dressing comprising a backing layer and an absorbent layer, wherein the absorbent layer comprises a wound facing surface and a non-wound facing surface, said absorbent layer comprises discrete foam pads covering at least 50% of the wound facing surface of the absorbent layer and wherein the non-wound facing surface of the foam pads are attached to the backing layer. The structure of the dressing renders it possible for the foam to expand during wetting without changing the external dimensions of the absorbent layer substantially.