Half of the 3.1 million unintended pregnancies in the United States occur in women who used contraception during the month they conceived. A better understanding of how women make decisions about contraception can inform providers who counsel women about birth control. The purpose of this study is to develop a psychometrically sound scale to measure how women make decisions about birth control. Content validation by professional and lay experts occurred in Phase 1. An exploratory factor analysis using principle component analysis was then conducted in a sample of 205 current contraceptive users. A four factor solution resulted with the themes of accessibility, general properties, interpersonal influences and personal beliefs. All reliability estimates for the total scale and subscales were significant at p < .000. Both professional and lay experts established content validity of the CDQ. Results of the factor analysis and reliability estimates support the construct validity of the scale.