A wound dressing defines bodyside and backside surfaces. The dressing comprises a backing layer defining a center portion and a border portion surrounding the center portion. An absorbent core is connected to a surface of the backing layer within the center portion The absorbent core may be exposed along a bodyside surface of the wound dressing, or various adhesives and non-adhesive substrates may be applied along a surface of the absorbent core so as to define part of the bodyside surface of the wound dressing.
