Reason reported for the delay in starting enteral feeds from birth in 80 30–33 weeks preterm infants in the multicentre prospective observational study.
| Reason* | Number of infants (%) |
| Waiting for breast milk | 43 (54%) |
| Respiratory distress needing non-invasive ventilation | 10 (13%) |
| Absent umbilical artery end diastolic flow on antenatal scans | 5 (6%) |
| Not tolerating feeds | 4 (5%) |
| Hypoglycaemia needing intravenous fluids | 3 (4%) |
| Respiratory distress requiring invasive ventilation | 3 (4%) |
| Small for gestational age | 2 (3%) |
| High lactate | 2 (3%) |
| Others | 4 (5%) |
*Infants may have more than one reason.