Holding the hand of his wife, Shay, William Young IV hummed gospel songs and rubbed her belly as the contractions rose and subsided.

As Shay went through labor Thursday morning, the family thought about the previous week’s journey to South Carolina from the West Bank of New Orleans. William, Shay and William’s mother, Barbara, spent days on the road fleeing the deadly Hurricane Katrina, searching for lost family and not knowing where they would get medical care should Shay go into labor.

They found that help in Columbia.

The couple welcomed 7-pound, 9-ounce William Young V, the family’s first child, at 2:47 p.m. Thursday at Providence Hospital Northeast.

The child, delivered by Caesarean section, is likely the first born in South Carolina to evacuee parents, according to Red Cross officials and Providence Hospital spokeswoman Kristen Martin, who has checked with hospitals statewide.

“I’m happy that it happened in South Carolina and not on the highway,” Shay Young said. “I am thoroughly impressed that he waited.”

The Youngs — William is 28, and Shay, 26 — have had little good luck since leaving their West Bank New Orleans home before Katrina hit last week. The family tried to head west to Dallas, but traffic forced them east, where they weathered the storm in Tennessee.

The family then came to Columbia, heading for the home of a relative in Irmo. Monday, as the family shopped at a St. Andrew’s Road Kmart, they encountered their first bit of providence.

Wendy Williams works in the hospital’s billing department and was shopping at the same store. She overheard the Youngs wondering where they could get medical care. Williams asked the family why, and the Youngs said they were from out of town.

“What are you doing out of town this far into pregnancy?” Williams asked, foot firmly in mouth when she received the answer.

So Williams contacted the hospital’s staff, and the Youngs were admitted to Providence. Since then Williams, Providence and Kmart employees have donated clothes, toiletries and other items to the family.

“That’s our little angel,” William Young said of Williams. “We couldn’t be happier with the hospital.”

The community has welcomed young William, with Red Cross workers coming to the hospital Thursday. Donations have included a new place to live. Hospital staff members have collected more than $1,000 for a baby shower, and awaited the lullaby that sounds hospitalwide to announce a birth.

“South Carolina!” William Young said. “Whenever we have another baby, we’re coming here.”

The Youngs received a second piece of good news Thursday night, learning that Shay’s mother, Kathleen Dixon — missing from St. Bernard Parish since the storm — was listed among evacuees who checked into the Houston Astrodome. She has since left the Astrodome, and the Youngs are trying to contact her. The Red Cross has found her father, Bruce Dixon, had checked in as well.

But for the Youngs, the best things to arise from the storm have been the birth of their child and the welcome extended by their adopted home.

The family has been so overwhelmed they are considering staying.

“We’ve got a whole lot of decisions,” William Young said. “It’s almost looking like we’re better off here.”

Reach O’Connor at (803) 771-8435 or johnoconnor@thestate.com.