diff --git a/src/backend/utils/mmgr/slab.c b/src/backend/utils/mmgr/slab.c
index c5866d9cc3..7f9749a73f 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/mmgr/slab.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/mmgr/slab.c
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ typedef struct SlabContext
 	int			chunksPerBlock; /* number of chunks per block */
 	int			minFreeChunks;	/* min number of free chunks in any block */
 	int			nblocks;		/* number of blocks allocated */
+#ifdef MEMORY_CONTEXT_CHECKING
+	char	   *freechunks;		/* bitmap of free chunks on a block */
+#endif
 	/* blocks with free space, grouped by number of free chunks: */
 	dlist_head	freelist[FLEXIBLE_ARRAY_MEMBER];
 } SlabContext;
@@ -229,6 +232,15 @@ SlabContextCreate(MemoryContext parent,
 	/* Size of the memory context header */
 	headerSize = offsetof(SlabContext, freelist) + freelistSize;
 
+#ifdef MEMORY_CONTEXT_CHECKING
+	/*
+	 * With memory checking, we need to allocate extra space for the bitmap
+	 * of free chunks. The space is allocated at the end, and we need proper
+	 * alignment (it's an array of bools, so maybe MAXALIGN is not needed).
+	 */
+	headerSize = MAXALIGN(headerSize) + chunksPerBlock * sizeof(bool);
+#endif
+
 	slab = (SlabContext *) malloc(headerSize);
 	if (slab == NULL)
 	{
@@ -258,6 +270,12 @@ SlabContextCreate(MemoryContext parent,
 	for (i = 0; i < (slab->chunksPerBlock + 1); i++)
 		dlist_init(&slab->freelist[i]);
 
+#ifdef MEMORY_CONTEXT_CHECKING
+	/* set the freechunks pointer after the freelists array (aligned) */
+	slab->freechunks = (char *) slab +
+			MAXALIGN(offsetof(SlabContext, freelist) + freelistSize);
+#endif
+
 	/* Finally, do the type-independent part of context creation */
 	MemoryContextCreate((MemoryContext) slab,
 						T_SlabContext,
@@ -701,14 +719,10 @@ SlabCheck(MemoryContext context)
 	int			i;
 	SlabContext *slab = castNode(SlabContext, context);
 	const char *name = slab->header.name;
-	char	   *freechunks;
 
 	Assert(slab);
 	Assert(slab->chunksPerBlock > 0);
 
-	/* bitmap of free chunks on a block */
-	freechunks = palloc(slab->chunksPerBlock * sizeof(bool));
-
 	/* walk all the freelists */
 	for (i = 0; i <= slab->chunksPerBlock; i++)
 	{
@@ -731,7 +745,7 @@ SlabCheck(MemoryContext context)
 					 name, block->nfree, block, i);
 
 			/* reset the bitmap of free chunks for this block */
-			memset(freechunks, 0, (slab->chunksPerBlock * sizeof(bool)));
+			memset(slab->freechunks, 0, (slab->chunksPerBlock * sizeof(bool)));
 			idx = block->firstFreeChunk;
 
 			/*
@@ -748,7 +762,7 @@ SlabCheck(MemoryContext context)
 
 				/* count the chunk as free, add it to the bitmap */
 				nfree++;
-				freechunks[idx] = true;
+				slab->freechunks[idx] = true;
 
 				/* read index of the next free chunk */
 				chunk = SlabBlockGetChunk(slab, block, idx);
@@ -759,7 +773,7 @@ SlabCheck(MemoryContext context)
 			for (j = 0; j < slab->chunksPerBlock; j++)
 			{
 				/* non-zero bit in the bitmap means chunk the chunk is used */
-				if (!freechunks[j])
+				if (!slab->freechunks[j])
 				{
 					SlabChunk  *chunk = SlabBlockGetChunk(slab, block, j);