diff --git a/mysql/_mysqlmodule.c b/mysql/_mysqlmodule.c
index eb5a6c5..2794497 100644
--- a/mysql/_mysqlmodule.c
+++ b/mysql/_mysqlmodule.c
@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ _mysql_connect(
 		return NULL;
 	if (conv) {
 		c->converter = conv;
+		Py_INCREF(conv);
 	} else {
 		if (!(c->converter = PyDict_New())) {
 			Py_DECREF(c);