This invention relates to a method for producing a water absorbing polymer including the following steps: (i) mixing (a1) 0.1 to 99.999 wt% preferably 20 to 98.99 wt% and particularly preferably 30 to 98.95 wt% polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated acid group containing monomers or their salts or polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated monomers containing a protonated or quaternized nitrogen atom or their mixtures wherein mixtures containing at least ethylenically unsaturated acid group containing monomers preferably acrylic acid are especially preferred (a2) 0 to 70 wt% preferably 1 to 60 wt% and particularly preferably 1 to 40 wt% polymerized ethylenically unsaturated monomers that are copolymerizable with (a1) (a3) 0.001 to 10 wt% preferably 0.01 to 7 wt% and particularly preferably 0.05 to 5 wt% one or more cross linking agent(s) (a4) 0 to 30 wt% preferably 1 to 20 wt% and particularly preferably 5 to 10 wt% water soluble polymers and (a5) 0 to 20 wt% preferably 0.01 to 7 wt% and particularly preferably 0.05 to 5 wt% one or more additive(s) wherein the total quantity by weight of (a1) to (a5) amounts to 100 wt% (ii) radical polymerization while cross linking in order to form a water insoluble aqueous untreated hydrogel polymer (iii) drying the hydrogel polymer (iv) grinding and sifting the water absorbing polymer (v) surface post cross linking the ground and sifted hydrogel polymer and (vi) drying and processing the water absorbing polymer wherein before the admixture of the initiator and the start of radical polymerization 0.01 to 5 wt% preferably 0.02 to 2wt% and particularly preferably 0.07 to 1 wt% of at least one surfactant relative to acrylic acid from the group of non ionic ionic or amphoteric surfactants and if required 0.01 to 5 wt% preferably 0.02 to 2 wt% and particularly preferably 0.07 to 1 wt% foaming agent with a particle size of 10 µm to 900 µm are added relative to the water absorbing polymer method for producing a hydrogel polymer the product
