diff --git a/C/c_interface.c b/C/c_interface.c
index 67e98db7e..3a180f5ec 100644
--- a/C/c_interface.c
+++ b/C/c_interface.c
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@
 #include "Yap.h"
 #include "clause.h"
 #include "yapio.h"
+#if _MSC_VER || defined(__MINGW32__) 
+#include <windows.h>
+#endif
 #include "iopreds.h"
 #define HAS_YAP_H 1
 #include "yap_structs.h"