Mothercare today added to evidence that the market for baby and children's goods is proving to be recession proof after revealing a 20.7 per cent rise in sales during the first quarter.

Sales in the 15 weeks to July 11 have been mainly boosted by Mothercare's international expansion and from Direct in Home, where parents can order goods in-store, on the internet and over the phone.

Like-for-like overseas sales, which strips out revenue from stores opened during the first quarter, rose by 9 per cent. Including new store openings, total international sales soared by 50.4 per cent.

Mothercare is opening around 100 overseas stores a year, and last Friday launched its first shop in China, in Beijing, and will shortly unveil its next outlet in Shanghai.

Since 1979, China has operated an aggressive one-child-per-family policy, which is estimated to have cut the population by 400 million since its introduction. However, the market is still huge with China home to around 1.3 billion people, or 20 per cent of the world's population.

Mothercare has also heavily expanded in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Russia and now has 20 stores in India. Overall, the company has 520 international sites in 49 countries.

Sales from Direct in Home increased by 77.7 per cent and, according to Ben Gordon, chief executive at Mothercare, internet and phone sales now contribute around 20 per cent to overall turnover.

In the UK, total sales 19.5 per cent In the UK though like for like sales increased by just 1 per cent.

However, Mr Gordon said the company was pleased with its performance in the UK, adding that customers were still continuing to buy premium products rather than trading down despite household budgets being squeezed in the current climate.

Mr Gordon said the company had recently launched its most expensive pushchair, the My3 which sells for £400 and that sales were "going great guns" and in general "people do want to keep spending."

It emerged last week that the average number of children per British woman has risen to its highest level since 1973, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Each woman gave birth to an average 1.91 children in 2007, up from 1.86 last year and the sixth consecutive annual increase.

However, the birth rate is still far below the average in the 1960s which peaked at 2.93 children per woman in 1964. British fertility rates reached a low point in 2001, at 1.63 children per woman.

Mothercare is continuing to integrate Early Learning Centre, which it acquired last year for £85 million, and to downsize its property requirements where it has found that it is operating in stores that are too large or where a Mothercare store is trading in close proximity to an Early Learning Centre.

Shares in Mothercare rose 19.7p to 366p in early trading.

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