text: 8 1/2 months pregnant dialeted to 4. is it active labor if i have no pain?   active labor is defined as continuous, regular contractions that are strong enough to cause a change in the cervix.  are you contracting?  if not, it's probably not active labor.   you can walk around dilated a small amount and not be in labor.  be glad, celebrate!  when you do go into labor, you have already made great progress!