This article reveals that catalyst coated membranes (CCM) and membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) expand and contract differently than pure ionomer membranes during hydration and dehydration. Pure membranes are shown to generate twice as much longitudinal peak and residual stress during dehydration than CCMs, reflecting the higher modulus of the pure ionomer material. Moreover, the stronger confinement imposed by the lamination of relatively stiff gas diffusion layers to the CCM prevents the ionomer membrane from expanding in the in-plane direction. This is shown to lead to a significant increase in the through-plane stress and strain during hydration of MEAs versus CCMs and pure ionomer membranes. Supplementary measurements indicate that the water sorption properties of the ionomer (at equilibrium) are not altered by the lamination of catalyst layers and gas diffusion layers; hence, the changes in expansion behavior in the MEA are attributed to the mechanical confinement provided by the other layers. These features should be captured by finite element modeling of fuel cell stacks for accurate cell design and may have important implications for fuel cell durability. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.