Shopping while working has got a lot easier now as well, with companies like us letting you shop seven days a week on-line, so whatever lifestyle you are leading, you can always find time to log on and check out the latest maternity fashions.

Even the department stores are realising the full potential of this business. We were recently approached by House of Fraser and have just opened our first boutique shop in their Birmingham branch, where we have a different customer base to that of our Lincoln boutique or even on-line, as different lifestyles drive different purchases.

We also spoke to Helen Wooldridge, Co-founder of Cuddledry.

With parenting so different now to how it was 20 years ago, manufacturers like Cuddledry have to take this into account when developing products. Whilst some priorities for baby products endure - such as the highest quality design, fabrics and construction, or simple practicality - there are new considerations such as convenience and time saving, as well as social and environmental concerns. We feel these points apply not only to how products are designed and made, but also, how we take them to market.

For example, the way in which Cuddledry products are packaged, the design of the information which promotes and explains Cuddledry and the places our range is for sale - all need to fit in with the needs of our target market. Our products need to simply explain to mums and dads why they will make life with their new baby simpler and their time all the more precious and enjoyable, especially for working parents who may only have a limited amount of time with their baby each day. It is also important that it is made clear that products have been made ethically, since research shows more and more buying decisions for today's babies will be influenced by social or environmental values.

The way we sell to today's parents is ever changing - we need to be ready to sell at all times of the day and night via the Internet, as well as offering a clear and fast explanation of each product's value in-store.

Ian Mullard of Mediaman, PR for Petite Star, believes much of this change has taken place over the last 12 years, with manufacturers' product ranges evolving to match modern lifestyles. Ian told us: "Graco changed the face of the high street when it introduced the concept of the mass produced travel system to the UK 11 years ago. Before this, travel systems were heavy and ugly, and designed around a 30 year platform. By contrast, the Kurvi by Petite Star is pure 21^st century design. It carries very little of the DNA of pushchairs of the late 90's and is designed to meet the needs and aspirations of the modern family.

"Meanwhile, the Zia4 is an unbelievably light travel system which meets the needs of the modern urban mum. In the past 10 years there are more working mums living in urban apartments who need light, easy to use pushchairs that fold into a small easy to store unit. They are busy hopping on and off public transport or in and out of the car and pushchair design has had to adapt to meet the demands of these increasingly hectic lifestyles."

Rob Low of Trunki shared his view with us too...

 How has product design responded to social trends?

 "Product design naturally follows social trends. Products have a natural life cycle and manufacturers use design to respond to society's demands for new, more fashionable and functional products.  Mass tourism has made the world a smaller place - a trend that's greatly facilitated the development of our travel accessories. Where one product captures the zeitgeist, others quickly follow and to stand out from the ‘me too' copies requires innovation and market differentiation.

 Has product design inspired social trends?

There are rare moments when exceptional product design influences social forces, as well as responding to them. The tech industry, with its skills for shaping technology into tangible, intuitive devices has had a decisive influence on how we communicate - the iPhone is a great example.

Product designers are at the forefront of driving change in the market, constantly innovating to create a competitive advantage. The most successful designs will inspire social trends by creating revolutionary product or services, but this is a rarity.

Travel inspires; challenges and enriches our lives and my mission is for to Trunki to encourage more families to explore the world together.

Mintel helped with our research by offering us a summary of its October 2008 report - Baby and Nursery Equipment UK 

According to Mintel, the market has grown by a fifth between 2003 and 2008 to reach £639 million. Over a third of the market is accounted for by the sales of baby carriages, including prams, pushchairs, buggies and travel systems.

The UK is experiencing a bit of a baby boom; the birth rate has been rising over the last five years, mostly driven by women who were born outside the UK.

Women are also having children later in life, with the mean age of women giving birth now at 29.5. They are waiting longer to have children and this can mean that they are further along in their career with more disposable income. Thus, they have more money to spend raising their children when they are born. This increased affluence has resulted in a huge boom in high-end products.

But teenage pregnancies in the UK are the highest in Europe, so low-end products are rising too - leading to a polarisation of the market. Thus, there are opportunities for manufacturers and retailers at both ends of the market.

There is an emerging trend that babies and toddlers serve as symbols of their parents' wealth and sense of style. This, and increased media coverage of celebrity mums, has made fashion a key factor in the market. The increased presence and therefore spending power of women in the workplace has enabled parents to spend more and the guilt factor of mothers who work has led to compensatory consumption, with mothers compensating for passing more time at work than in the nursery by spending more.

Parents are not the only ones buying, with grandparents buying baby and nursery equipment for half of mums. Friends, particularly those with no children of their own, also have a propensity for buying nursery equipment as gifts - with over a third of mums expecting nursery equipment to be bought as a gift. The general ethos is that where there's an event, there's a spending opportunity.

Where products are more likely to be seen by others, fashion is more of a focus, with consumers taking inspiration from celebrities for changing bags and baby carriers to the latest pushchair. Style is now a decision-making factor in nursery equipment, with 15% of mums regarding style as a driver. This trend has emerged on the back of increased media coverage of celebrity mums. Consequently, many mums are increasingly prepared to pay premium prices for those products that they feel deliver the best possible care and image for themselves and their babies.

Consumers are willing to buy in duplicate and even triplicate for convenience. Car seats are now often per car rather than per household, where both mother and father does the nursery run, while potties, toilet training seats and bathroom steps are per bathroom rather than per household. A travel system is used for every day, whereas a trolley-buggy is used for holidays abroad.

NPD is intense within the baby equipment market, as manufacturers get one chance to capture their customers in this finite market.

At the turn of the millennium, Bugaboo caused an industry revolution with the Frog, driving value in the market by doubling the price of pushchairs. Recent innovations include a new lie-flat travel solution, a lightweight carbon frame travel system, dirt-repellent car seats and a top-of-the-range travel cot that provides the comfort of a permanent cot.

One area of rapid growth has been in sales of car seat bases that remain in the car, allowing the infant carrier to be easily clicked onto the base.

Looking for opportunities of growth and with a high footfall of families buying consumables, supermarkets have come into the baby equipment sector, offering smaller-sized items such as sterilisers and monitors, with catalogues such as Tesco Direct offering larger equipment. There are still further opportunities for more own-label products that target the value end of the market.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for 2007 gives an average of 1.91 children per woman in England and Wales. This is the sixth consecutive annual increase from a low point in 2001 where the TFR was 1.63. The last time the TFR exceeded 1.91 was 34 years earlier in 1973 when it stood at 2. This has been aided by levels of migration, suggesting a sizeable and stable market and thus healthy demand over the coming years.

Consumers will continue to demand ever better quality and service and they might increasingly want something more specialist rather than mass-produced.

Finally...in The diary of an expectant Mum, we find out how Joanne Dale got on when she went shopping for a pushchair at 33 weeks!

Today is the day that I go shopping for a pram. I've been putting it off for weeks which may sound strange as it should be an exciting occasion! But no, the thought fills me with dread. I will explain why.

I have done all the things that a consumer is advised to do before making a pricey purchase. I have compared online, asked friends and family for advice, I've even stopped random strangers on the street to ask if they would recommend theirs! But has this helped? No it has just made me even more confused and I wish someone would just say: "Here you go, this is the one you want." Or at least: "Here are your choices," and not be faced with hundreds of brands all promising to be the best. So, rather than confusing myself further, I made the decision to visit two well known retailers for help.

Retailer A didn't impress me at all. The prams were on security wires so you have to ask someone before you can try them and there was no one to be found. It was also very pricey.

Retailer B was much better. They had a good selection and the staff were really friendly. This retailer makes sure the car seat is compatible with your car before you are allowed to make a purchase, which I thought was very safety conscious and not something that you would get if you bought online. So I plan to go back there in a week or two (in my own car this time!) as I think I have finally made my decision.

But then, when you tell people what pram you have decided on you face the whole: "Are you sure about that? Personally I would have gone for..."! Everyone has a different opinion, but I have found something that suits my particular lifestyle and that's what counts.