What impact can a mother's drug use during pregnancy have on a child's development?

A mother's drug use during pregnancy can significantly affect a child's development in multiple ways. When a pregnant individual uses drugs, it can lead to complications such as congenital disabilities and issues with brain development. Particularly, certain substances may interfere with critical periods of development, potentially resulting in intellectual disabilities. This encompasses a broad range of cognitive impairments, affecting the child's ability to learn, reason, and solve problems.

While it is true that drug use can lead to physical health problems as well, the question highlights the developmental aspect, which encompasses cognitive and learning difficulties. Therefore, the insights provided by the chosen answer align with established research indicating that prenatal exposure to drugs poses serious risks to a child's intellectual and overall cognitive development.

Other options suggest a lack of impact or minimize the effects to only physical health; however, this overlooks substantial evidence linking drug use during pregnancy to both cognitive impairments and learning challenges. Thus, acknowledging the potential for intellectual disabilities recognizes an important consequence of maternal substance use that can have lifelong implications for the child.