Preterm babies may need to have delayed introduction of solids depending upon the degree of prematurity. If the baby still has a strong tongue thrust reflex they may not yet be mature to handle solids. In this case deferring a month and trying again is reasonable advice after watching an attempt at feeding. It is also important to exclude local problems in the mouth or swallowing. If you adjust for prematurity and accept the normal population curve means some children will be delayed, then 2.5% of preterm children, even adjusted for prematurity, will display a delay in capacity to commence solids beyond 2 standard deviations.